USE OF BUBBLE GUM TO CHECK THE BORDER EXTENSIONS OF CUSTOM TRAY BEFORE BORDER MOLDING

Various materials like wheat flour dough1, play dough2, and catalyst paste of polyvinyl siloxane putty material3 are used to check the custom tray extensions before border molding to make a removable prosthesis with each one having its advantages and disadvantages. Using bubble gum to check the border extensions is less time consuming, inexpensive, it sticks to the custom tray nicely but does not stick to the tissues and is easily cleansable. The only disadvantage could be its sweetness which could be of a bother to the patient. This can be overcome by using a sugar-free alternative. PROCEDURE 1. A piece of bubble gum was softened in warm water and made into a roll. 2. It was adapted to the borders of the custom tray (Fig. 1), placed in the mouth and the same manipulation was done as is done routinely for the border molding procedure. 3. The tray was removed from the mouth and checked for any exposure. (Fig. 2). The bubble gum was removed, the borders of the tray cleaned with gauze and the exposed area was trimmed. 4. The above-mentioned steps were repeated until the desired length and thickness of the borders were achieved. 5. Once it was deemed satisfactory, the bubble gum was removed and the borders of the custom tray were cleaned with gauze and border molding procedure was carried out conventionally and final impression was made. REFERENCES 1. Namratha N, Shetty V. A technique to evaluate custom tray border extensions before peripheral molding. J Prosthet Dent 2014; 112:1603-4. 2. Aggarwal H, Kumar P. Comments regarding Namratha N, Shetty V. A technique to evaluate custom tray border extensions before peripheral molding. J Prosthet Dent 2014; 112:1603-4 [Letter to the Editor]. J Prosthet Dent 2015; 114:1-2. 3. Bhat V, Shetty S, Kamath J, Shenoy KK. A simple method to check the border extensions of custom tray. Ann. Int. Med. Den. Res 2016; 2:31-2.