The heat-activated solderless passivation (HASP) technique for correcting nonpassive-fitting bars without soldering.

Abstract

The fabrication of a cast noble alloy overdenture bar entails a variety of clinical and laboratory steps, each of which can potentially generate distortions that result in the non-passive fit of the finished product. Traditional laboratory procedures to correct the misfit of cast bars entail sectioning the bar, then reconnecting the bar segments by soldering or welding. After such procedures, research has shown that the bar may still not fit passively on the implant abutments in the patient's mouth. In addition, the overall structure of the bar would be weaker at the mended joints. The heat-activated solderless passivation (HASP) technique involves a two-step process of correcting the master cast, then attaching the cast bar to a soldering index and applying heat to relax the metal until the tensile forces of the retention screws pull the bar into a passive fit.