[The terminal occlusal contacts of the edentulous patient with a complete denture]

For the last few decades our knowledge concerning the occlusion have developed a lot, because of the many clinical, morphological and functional implications of the occlusion. In the study of the terminal occlusion, it is considered to be of functional importance the closing trajectory of the mandible in centric relation and the closing trajectory of the mandible in maximal occlusion. The purpose of this research is to analyse the terminal occlusion of the complete denture patients, emphasize the link between occlusion disharmony and instability of the complete denture. Complementary exam used is the computerized T-scan system connected a compatible IBM computer. The study included 17 to subjects (11 males and 6 females), with an age over-age of 63 years. When completing this study the authors were able to classify four types of occlusal contacts.