The fabrication of acrylic dentures requires a precise investment process to transform the wax trial denture into the final acrylic prosthesis. The Duplicator Flask (or Denture Flask) is the essential piece of equipment used to accomplish this through a lost-wax technique, ensuring the accurate transfer of the setup from wax to polymerized acrylic.
A standard flask is typically constructed from aluminum or stainless steel and consists of two or three parts: a base, a lid, and sometimes a counter or middle section. The process involves first creating a stone mold of the wax denture setup within the flask. Once the stone sets, the flask is opened, the wax is boiled out, and the acrylic resin is packed into the resulting cavity. The flask is then closed under pressure and placed in a polymerization unit to cure.
The robust construction of the flask is vital as it must withstand significant pressure during clamping and the heat of polymerization cycles without warping. Precision machining ensures the lid and base align perfectly every time, guaranteeing that the vertical dimension of occlusion and the precise arrangement of the teeth are maintained without change from the approved wax try-in.
For any dental laboratory involved in removable prosthodontics, having a set of reliable, high-quality duplicator flasks in various sizes is fundamental. They are the workhorses that ensure the clinical effort put into the try-in stage is perfectly captured in the final, delivered denture.