A common technique used when taking fixed prosthetic impressions is packing a cord. Packing a cord will help stop the bleeding and assist in achieving good retraction in the sulcus before inserting impression material. Dentists often pack a single cord as part of their impression taking technique. However, using a double cord technique can produce better tissue displacement, resulting in better impressions and better results for the laboratory, dentist and patient.
Packing two cords has two main advantages over packing a single cord:
Margins are better defined with two cords. Single cords often leave extremely thin margin areas resulting in deformed impressions.
In a deep sulcus, using two cords can help prevent tissue from collapsing over the top of the cord. Tissue collapse restricts access of the impression material and can cause the material to tear.
As your laboratory, our goal is to provide you with the best fit for every prosthetic. The double cord technique often results in a more accurate impression, which eliminates any guess work at the lab when trimming the die. Well defined margins on an impression help us prevent margins from coming up short or open on the prosthetic which results in less seepage and provides a more accurate fit when placed in the patient's mouth.
