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Updated: May 12, 2026
Measuring Maxillary Posterior Tooth Movement: A Model Assessment using Palatal and Dental Superimposition
Published on: February 23, 2024
Orientation of the occlusal plane in a Class I adult population
Gregory S Antonarakis1, Stavros Kiliaridis, Paolo Scolozzi
1Department of Orthodontics, Dental School, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Gregory.Antonarakis@unige.ch
Objective:
To primarily evaluate whether Delaire's ideal occlusal plane is present in Class I occlusal relationship adults.
Study Design:
Pretreatment lateral cephalometric radiographs from 30 orthodontically untreated Caucasian Class I malocclusion adults were obtained. The occlusal, mandibular, and maxillary planes were traced and compared with the ideal occlusal, mandibular, and maxillary planes according to Delaire.
Results:
The average occlusal plane was 3.5° below the ideal plane. This divergence was more pronounced in males, and in patients presenting with a hypodivergent skeletal pattern. The maxillary plane displayed on average less than 0.5° of divergence to the ideal. The average mandibular plane showed a divergence of 3.3° below the ideal.
Conclusions:
When aiming to obtain an ideal orientation of the occlusal plane postoperatively, one must keep in mind that in Class I occlusal relationship adults without any dentofacial disharmony, the occlusal plane is rarely coincident with the ideal plane.
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