Post your waxing tricks

[DrTacoElf]

Well practical time has rolled around again (#3 this time). Anyway I thought this could be beneficial for everyone. So post up your tricks of the trade or stuff that you have learned in the trenches.

One tip of mine is

Use waxing powder not articulating paper to check occlusion if you value your cusps. And another one which seems intuitive but I see so many people struggle with occusal anatomy -- get the dentoform tooth as close as possible to the tooth you are working on and in the same orientation (I like to use boxing wax and actually place it inside the dentoform arch adjacent to the wax tooth) -- this makes copying occlusal anatomy so much easier.

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[divertete]

For picture-perfect contacts, take the tooth out of the typodont (aka dentoform) and drop some extra wax where your contact should go. Wait until it's just cool enough to not be shiny anymore and quickly put the tooth back in the arch. You'll see a little indentation where your contact should be, just carefully carve around this spot until it's perfectly blended with the rest of the interproximal surface, and you're good to go.

What is waxing powder? We just started waxing to occlusion, and I don't think it's in our issue -- they just told us to use articulating tape, and warned us of its downfalls.

 

[Dentalhopeful]

this is what you do....perhaps maybe your faculty gives you a colored stump for practicals to inhibit cheating. Since you know the tooth you are doing, you take an impression of your dentoform. After the alginate has set, detach from dentoform. Afterwards, poor hot wax in the tooth you need. Hopefully there aren't any bubbles or anything. Now, the wax has set in the tooth. Now you just made a positive of the negative. Now all you have to do is figure out a way to attach the waxed tooth on the stump without messing anything up.

LOL...please don't do this...it is really not worth it to get kicked out of dental school....but it makes a good way to impress your friends and make believe you are the master of wax-ups.

I use the drip method i feel it fives me the best control over what is happening.

Good luck

 

[rocknightmare]

drtacoelf.. you guys already finished Carving class?? we are almost done with it at vcu.. one more pratical to go.. close to half the class is failing so i am not sure what they plan to do with us

 

[DrTacoElf]

drtacoelf.. you guys already finished Carving class?? we are almost done with it at vcu.. one more pratical to go.. close to half the class is failing so i am not sure what they plan to do with us

Lets see we have #3 for this practical and then #30 and #4 for our next practical then we are done.

divertete waxing powder is pretty much like baby powder from what i can tell - its like the reverse of articulating paper. You dust the entire wax tooth and where its removed you have contact.

 

[Happy2th]

?

 

[ItsGavinC]

My best waxing tip? Don't wax. Send it to the lab where they know what they're doing (assuming your lab actually knows what it's doing).

 

[rocknightmare]

i like his advice.. cause i can't do it worth ****.. i hate neuro too!

 

[divya]

Well practical time has rolled around again (#3 this time). Anyway I thought this could be beneficial for everyone. So post up your tricks of the trade or stuff that you have learned in the trenches.

One tip of mine is

Use waxing powder not articulating paper to check occlusion if you value your cusps. And another one which seems intuitive but I see so many people struggle with occusal anatomy -- get the dentoform tooth as close as possible to the tooth you are working on and in the same orientation (I like to use boxing wax and actually place it inside the dentoform arch adjacent to the wax tooth) -- this makes copying occlusal anatomy so much easier.

Baking powder works as well as waxing powder and is cheaaaaaap.

 

[Tzips]

For polishing - an old pair of women's stockings (preferably thick) or tights works miracles. It removes a much smaller amount of wax at each pass than the Hollenback, thus enabling for much finer contouring and smoothing.

 

[divya]

For polishing - an old pair of women's stockings (preferably thick) or tights works miracles. It removes a much smaller amount of wax at each pass than the Hollenback, thus enabling for much finer contouring and smoothing.

yep, i cut them into small pieces and use them....and if you feel shy to call them panty hose you just refer to it as nylon.

 

[Austin1]

Some things that have worked awesome for me:
For your facial/lingual/mesial/distal surface porosities run your die extremely fast thru your flame. do this a couple of times and your surfaces will be uniform. (DO THIS FAST OR IT WILL DISTORT)
Then take panty hose around your finger and smooth the wax out everywhere.
Then get some silky soap (surfactant) and put it on a 2x2 gauze or a cotton roll (i prefer the cotton roll with the ends flared out). Rub your wax pattern with this under the coldest water faucet you can find. I dont know why this works, but it does. Try it.
If your school is like mine, a great shine will get you an A, even if your anatomy isnt perfect. The steps above will get you a pretty freakin good shine, but to top it off you can do one of two things. You can get some Armorol on a cotton roll and apply it to your die (not too much!) Or take your finger and rub it on your nose or forehead to get some skin oil and apply it to the dye that way. (forehead grease as my class calls it). I know to some that may be gross, but that stuff works man. Hope this helps fellas. -AUSTIN

 

[JavadiCavity]

My best waxing tip? Don't wax. Send it to the lab where they know what they're doing (assuming your lab actually knows what it's doing).

My thoughts exactly! I can't wait to be able to send all my final impressions off to the lab. It'll be the best $200 I'll spend.

 

[deeyala]

for the occlusal anatomy , i incremently add lots of wax, heat it all together on the flame (before carving the margins so they won't open) and when the occlusal surface is a big bulk of soft wax, close the articulator with the opposing arch, and open quickly (no pressure), then carve the rest..
it minimizes interference when later checking the occlusion

 

[JakeMUSC]

this is what you do....perhaps maybe your faculty gives you a colored stump for practicals to inhibit cheating. Since you know the tooth you are doing, you take an impression of your dentoform. After the alginate has set, detach from dentoform. Afterwards, poor hot wax in the tooth you need. Hopefully there aren't any bubbles or anything. Now, the wax has set in the tooth. Now you just made a positive of the negative. Now all you have to do is figure out a way to attach the waxed tooth on the stump without messing anything up.

LOL...please don't do this...it is really not worth it to get kicked out of dental school....but it makes a good way to impress your friends and make believe you are the master of wax-ups.

I use the drip method i feel it fives me the best control over what is happening.

Good luck

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lol....ive heard that story before.....my prof waxed a tooth using alginate impression and he taped the tooth to his typodont...and asked the student...hey, I wonder how I made a perfect copy of your tooth?....anyways the guys that get away with it, are smart enough to change and mess up the perfect tooth a little bit....getting the peg on there is easy i heard....you just put the peg in the alginate hole right after you pour wax in the hole....lol....anyways I hear the best method is to use the plastic square(you know the one you heat up and make a base plate with) you heat up the plastic and put it down on the tooth....anyways...like you said, its not worth it and definietely doesnt help you on practicals