Gingival retraction

ToothTalkings

The dentists try to retract the gingiva before taking final impressions for crowns or veneers.
All these years, I was taking gingival retraction chord for this purpose. Oh, no, I was not packing the chord. Level 2 dental assistants are not supposed to do that.
To stop gingival bleeding, the chord is socked in a hemostatic solution like Hemodent first. Then the dentist use a retraction chord packer to place it around the tooth.
I got a chance to see another material recently. The dentist use Expasyl system. It comes like an anesthetic cartridge, a gun and a tip.

It is easy to assemble. The application is faster than packing the chord. The dentist will wash the material from the gingiva and dry the area before taking the final impression.

There are other materials like magic Cord retraction paste. But, I haven't got a chance to use that.
The simple trick for cutting a retraction chord to fit around tooth is to wrap around your little finger and cut it. Usually it will be perfect size.  How that works??? No clue.  But it works all the time.