Some students who have taken compound impressions know they don't have to pour them up right away. However, if you put them in the trunk of your car in the Summer time you will end up with a molten blob.

You can destroy an alginate impression by wrapping it in a sheet of baseplate wax and holding the wax in place with a rubber band. I know you want to make a neat model, but you may also be crushing the soft alginate.

You must pour up an alginate impression within 15 minutes of making it. If you need 10 minutes to disinfect it, that leaves 5 minutes. Don't think that covering the impression with a wet towel will allow you time to delay pouring it.

©1999 by Julius Rosen, D.D.S.