Some Aspects on Dental Occlusion and its importance in Clinical Dentistry

Abstract

Opinions, both among clinicians and academics, differ much on how to define and examine dental occlusion, and how to treat occlusal problems. Most individuals exhibit deviations from the so-called ideal occlusion, but still, the great majority is functioning well. Those individuals have a physiological occlusion and are in no need of any therapeutic intervention. ln textbooks and prosthodontic education all over the world, it is maintained that jaw registration must include a face-bow transfer. However, there is no good evidence for this opinion. ln Sweden the use of face-bows has been almost totally abandoned both in dental education and general practice during the last few decades. The extensive fixed dental prostheses on natural teeth and dental implants produced in Sweden with well-documented excellent long-term results have been performed in simple articulators without face-bow transfer. When fabricating crowns and small fixed dental prostheses in patients with a stable occlusion, indices can be left out, which has been shown to increase the accuracy of the mounting in the articulator. The long-lived belief that complete dentures must have a balanced occlusion has been refuted by studies comparing this classical occlusal design with canine-guidance: complete dentures do not need a balanced occlusion to function well. The etiological importance of occlusal features in temporomandibular disorders has been depreciated lately and focus is now on psychological and general health factors. Recent findings on the neuroplasticity of the brain can help explain the great variation among individuals regarding adaptation capacity to tooth loss and occlusal changes, including various designs of prosthodontic restorations.