Abstract:
Dental parts which are permanently installed in the mouth such as acrylic teeth or jackets, bridges, crown veneers, acrylic crowns, crowns with an acrylic face or coating, and other permanent dental restorations containing acrylic are produced quickly and without substantial distortion or breakage without the use of a dental flask. Rock plaster is formed into a nest-shaped piece. The nest may be a vertical nest or horizontal nest which has a generally centrally located hollow portion or cavity having an open top. A dental part, made of wax, may then be inserted into the cavity and pressed by hand into the surface of the rock plaster to make or form an impression of the wax part within the inside surface of the nest. After the rock plaster dries or cures, the wax may be melted and removed from the nest. Heat-curable acrylic may then be dripped or poured into the hollow portion of the nest where it covers and fills the impression left by the wax dental part. The heat-curable acrylic in the nest may be cured without the use of a dental flask by indirect heating. The nest containing the heat-curable acrylic is submerged in ambient water within an open-topped curing container. The open-topped curing container is submerged in preheated water so that the top of the curing container is above the level of preheated water. The preheated water is maintained at acrylic curing temperatures and pressures to indirectly heat and cure the dental part without scorching or distorting it.