Complete dentures: designing occlusal registration blocks to save clinical time and improve accuracy Mark Bishop Tony Johnson Dental Update 2024 42:3, 707-709.
Authors
MarkBishop
BDS, (VU Manc) MMedSci (Sheff)
Clinical Teacher, Academic Unit of Restorative Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield S10 2TA, UK
Senior Lecturer, Academic Unit of Restorative Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield S10 2TA, UK
The techniques described in this article are based on facial measurements and an analysis of the patient's existing dentures to provide measurements that will enable registration blocks to be constructed for individual patients rather than the arbitrarily produced block more commonly seen. Employing the methods shown will lead to a saving in clinical time and contribute to a more accurate registration. It is important to remember that the technician can only provide occlusal registration blocks of the appropriate dimensions if the clinician has assessed the patient and existing dentures and then passed this information to the laboratory.
Clinical Relevance: Being able to assess the clinical suitability of a patient's existing dentures and then take measurements from those dentures will allow occlusal registration blocks to be constructed that have the correct dimensions and anatomical features for a particular patient. This will save time during the registration stage and help to improve accuracy.
Article
There are two vertical dimensions in occlusion: one when the teeth are in occlusion, the other when the teeth are separated and the mandible is in the rest position.1 These are referred to as occlusal face height (OFH) and rest face height (RFH), respectively, the difference between the two being free-way space (FWS). The work in this article concerns registering the first position (OFH) and describes how previous dentures and individual patient measurements can be used in the construction of occlusal registration blocks (ORBs) to enable this to be accomplished.
McGrane2 measured many hundreds of adult dentate models and concluded that, provided the mandibular teeth were not worn, they would measure 18 mm from the labial mucosal fold immediately beside the mandibular labial fraenum to the incisal edges of the mandibular centrals (using a model cast from a mucostatic type impression). His maxillary measurement was 22 mm, using corresponding sites, giving a total distance of 40 mm (Figure 1). Such work has been repeated by others.3,4,5,6,7
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Dental Update and reading some of our resources. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits:
