A poured master cast shows several small voids near the margins. What is a practical corrective step?

• A. Ignore the voids
• B. Re-pour the cast with fresh impression material after ensuring proper mixing and seating
• C. Reheat the cast to remove voids
• D. Increase impression material thickness during seating

Answer: (B)

Voids in a poured master cast indicate air entrapment or inadequate flow of impression material at the margins, which compromises the accuracy of the marginal details. The best corrective step is to remake the impression and pour it again using fresh material, making sure the material is mixed correctly and seated properly so it flows into and around every margin without trapping air. Reheating won’t reliably remove voids and can damage materials, while simply increasing the material thickness during seating can worsen distortion rather than fix the underlying issue. Ignoring the voids would leave an inaccurate cast.