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Effect of prosthodontic planning on intercuspal occlusal contacts: comparison of digital and conventional planning
Jaafar Abduo1, Mohammed Bennamoun2, Marc Tennant3
1Melbourne Dental School, Melbourne University, 720 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
Background:
Adequate occlusal contacts are critical for masticatory function. The aim of this study is to evaluate the intercuspal occlusal contacts following conventional and digital wax-ups.
Methods:
Stone casts of 15 patients undergoing prosthodontic treatment were gathered. Each cast was duplicated twice, so that conventional and digital wax-ups could be performed. To assess the occlusion, the following variables were evaluated: contact number per tooth (CNT), contact area per tooth (CAT) and contact accuracy. Further, the impact of tooth location in the arch was assessed.
Results:
The CNT and CAT after the wax-ups increased significantly following each wax-up, and this increase was more prominent for the posterior teeth than the anterior teeth. The conventional wax-up was associated with lower CNT than the digital wax-up, especially for the posterior teeth. On the other hand, the CAT was greater for the conventional wax-up than the digital wax-up for the anterior and posterior teeth. In terms of accuracy, the two wax-ups showed greater discrepancies than the pre-treatment casts, however, the magnitude of discrepancy was greater for the digital wax-up.
Conclusions:
The two wax-ups improved the contact number and area. Despite the statistical variation between the wax-ups, the actual difference was minimal. Therefore, it could be speculated that the two wax-ups produced a similar outcome.
