Zest VPS Bite Registration Material, 50 mL Cartridges · AlphaBite · 2 × 50 mL with 6 Tips

• VPS Bite Registration — A two-paste silicone that sets in the mouth in seconds to a few minutes. A set record of this kind is named for articulation within 24 hours.
• Bite Registration Materials — A paste that is mixed, or a wax that is warmed, instead of a silicone pressed from a cartridge. Wax and zinc oxide eugenol records are named for articulation within one hour, where a silicone record is named for 24.

What these materials are judged on: little resistance before setting so the jaw can close freely, little dimensional change after setting, accurate recording of the incisal and occlusal surfaces, simple handling, biocompatibility and easy checking.

Setting time: the patient has to hold the jaw in one position while the material sets, and a study names uncontrolled jaw movement as a cause of records that have to be repeated. Older patients with poor neuromuscular control find it difficult to hold the jaw in one position while the material sets.

Rigidity: the set record has to resist distortion from the weight of the casts and the parts of the articulator used to hold them while the casts are mounted.

Dimensional stability over days: one study of silicone bite materials found the most stable ones changed by less than a tenth of a millimetre from the original die at 24, 72 and 168 hours, while the least stable changed much more.

After it is out of the mouth, only minor changes such as trimming are permitted, and about half the practitioners in one survey trimmed the record before it went to the laboratory.