Short-term changes in the perception of comfortable mandibular occlusal positions

In search of a new clinical method for determining the occlusal height of full dentures, the perception of the comfortable zone was studied in fifteen edentulous patients. In each experimental session perceptual changes were recorded from forty-four consecutive applications of a screw jack per subject. Two stages in perceptual acuity were found. An initial stage, in which only minor variations occurred among the final screw adjustments which the subjects made when they assessed the borders of the comfortable zone. In the ensuing stage greater variations emerged, indicating a deterioration in the ability of the subjects to discriminate.