The Wax Try The Wax Try-in

The Wax Try-in

Wax Try-in
Verify & Change:
- Appearance
- Phonetics
- Occlusal relationships
- Patient comfort

Two try-in appointments
• Initial wax try-in
- Confirm esthetics, phonetics
- Verify centric, protrusive
• Final wax try-in
- Ensure balanced (if applicable),
wax-up complete

Don’t Overlook Problems
• Difficult/impossible to change after
processing
• May require removal, resetting &
re-processing
• Procedures more costly & time consuming

Incisors too long

Initial Wax Try-in
• Verify:
- Appearance of the anterior teeth
- Accuracy of the maxillomandibular records
• Changes will almost always need to be made
• Technician has not finalized balance at this stage

Make Changes Technician Can’t Assess
Esthetic Problems
Other changes can be prescribed
for the technician to complete

Verify Occlusal Vertical Dimension & Interocclusal
Distance
• Same techniques used previously
• Critical to measure & feel 2-4 mm of
interocclusal distance
• No tooth contacts during closest speaking
space

Changing OVD
• Effects:
- Occlusion
- Facial esthetics

Minimal Registration Material
• Improves record
accuracy
- Less resistance
during closure
- Reduces chance of
deflection when
checking record
✔
✘
✘
✔

Alternate Technique
Alluwax with a Wax Spatula

Tooth Position
• Canine Relationship
- Most critical tooth
relationship
- If half tooth offset not
present, diastema required
between anterior &
posterior teeth

Verify Comfort: Tongue Space
Ask patient to comment on:
- Comfort
- Ability to speak with the dentures

Check:
Esthetics
- Amount of incisal display
- Harmony of the maxillary teeth
with the smile line
- Accuracy of the midline
- Angle of the occlusal plane

Esthetics
Check
- Proper soft tissue profile,
contours
- Lip support
- Display of the vermilion
border,
- Correct nasolabial angle

Esthetics
• Ask patients for their opinion prior to
voicing your opinion
• Avoids biasing the patient
• May be helpful to have family or friend
attend the wax try-in

Esthetics
If you or the patient have reservations about
appearance
- Resolve prior to final processing
- Never attempt to persuade a patient out
of a concern
- Problems will be yours later, if the patient
does not like the appearance

Phonetics
• Easier to assess
- Teeth have replaced bulky rims
• Crowded tongue space can
adversely affect phonetics

Lisping
• Non-uniform overjet of
the anterior teeth
• Diastemas between teeth
• Palatal contours
• Diamond-shaped
openings between incisors

Sibilant Sounds
• ‘S’, ‘Z’‘T’ ‘CH’ ‘SH’:
‘Sixty-six’, ‘Mississippi
Mississippi’)
• Incisors should approach end to end
relationship
Normal
relationship of
incisors in CR
Relationship of the incisors
during pronunciation of the
sibilants. If the lower incisal edge
is anterior or posterior the
maxillary incisal edge, this
indicates an error in the overjet.

Fricative Sounds
• F, V, ‘Fifty-Five’
Five’
• Ask patient to count
from ‘50
to 60’
• Maxillary incisal edges
should just touch the
posterior one third of
the lower lip

Denture base contours
• Affect
phonetics,
comfort and
retention
• Should not be
slightly convex
in shape
Convex
Concave

Denture Base Contours
Ensure that the denture base is not unduly thick or
thin
- Excess bulk will impair comfort
- Feel between index finger & thumb
- Base that is too thin will be weakened
- Should not be able to see through

Patient Input
Use open ended questions
“How do you like the appearance?”,
rather than
“Don’t the new dentures look great?”

Laboratory Prescription
Request:
- Processing, finishing & polishing
- Laboratory remount of the dentures
- Adjustment of occlusion to compensate for
processing changes

Checklist
• Centric record verified with recording medium
• Vertical dimension verified:
a. 2-3 mm between lip closure and teeth touching
b. Phonetics tests ("50`s-60`s" or "Mississippi") -
space between rims
c. Lips appear and feel unstrained
• Tooth form, arrangement & shade verified
• Phonetics verified ("S","F" and "M" sounds)
• Balanced occlusion, anterior teeth only grazing in protrusion