Effect of impression valve system on adhesion force of impression materials to edentulous maxillary jaw: a preliminary clinical study

Objective: The purpose of this preliminary clinical study was to evaluate the effect of novel impression valve system (IVS) on adhesion force of different impression materials to edentulous maxilla. Background data: Impression materials and techniques have an important role in complete denture success. During the functional impression with an individual impression tray (IIT), high adhesive forces exist between edentulous ridge and impression material. Removing the IIT from the mouth with minimal force provides the most accurate and non-deformed impression. Materials and methods: This study included twenty maxillary edentulous patients (n?=?20). Patients who had palatal torus, anatomic undercut, gagging reflex, and flabby ridges were excluded from the study. The age range of the participants was 55–70. All patients gave written informed consent. Two impression materials – zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE) and alginate – were used as experimental material. The digital dynamometer was used to determine the adhesion force of impression materials with and without IVS to edentulous maxilla. The mean values of the adhesion forces were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test (α = 0.05). Results: The effect of IVS on adhesion force was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). There were also statistical differences between the ZOE and alginate groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The IVS is useful to remove the functional impression from the mouth without any deformation and detaching in cases which high adhesive force occurs.