What Materials and Reproducible Techniques May Be Used in Recording Centric Relation? Best Evidence Consensus...

The purpose of this Best Evidence Consensus Statement was to evaluate the existing literature relative to two focus questions: What are the techniques used and their reproducibility in recording centric relation (CR) in a dentate and partially dentate population and what effect do different recording materials have on the reproducibility of CR?

Keywords used in the initial search were: CR, interocclusal records, CR accuracy, CR reproducibility, and CR technique. The search was then limited to Systematic Reviews, Randomized Controlled Studies, Meta-analyses, and Clinical Trials.

Initial search related to the selected search terms resulted in more than 3500 articles. When subsequent search was limited to Systematic Reviews, Randomized Controlled Studies, and Meta-Analysis and Clinical Trials, this resulted in 291 articles selected for further analysis.

Techniques using chin point guidance, bimanual manipulation, power centric, Gothic arch tracing, leaf gauge, and anterior deprogramming devices to record CR can all be comparable in precision and clinical accuracy in regards to clinical relevance. Practitioner experience and familiarity with a particular technique is critical for accuracy when recording CR. Polyvinyl siloxane and polyether consistently performed better in the broad range of studies on recording materials. Virtual capture of CR could serve as a comparable recording medium but requires further clinical study.