Influence of Virtual Articulator Programming on the Occlusal Contact Pattern in CAD/CAM Crowns: The Role of Jaw...

To assess how three virtual articulator programming strategies, including jaw motion tracking, reproduce a predefined reference occlusal contact scheme (ROCS) after crown fabrication by evaluating occlusal contact presence/absence and interference intensity.

Maxillary and mandibular casts with preparations on the maxillary left central incisor, maxillary left first premolar, and mandibular right second molar were mounted in a semi-adjustable articulator. Forty-five crowns were fabricated and allocated to three groups: grou,1 designed with full dynamics recorded by an electronic jaw tracking device; group,2 designed with a virtual articulator programmed using individualized parameters from dynamic recordings; and group,3 designed with default CAD settings. Occlusal contacts in maximum intercuspation and eccentric movements were evaluated with articulating paper. Weighted kappa measured agreement with the ROCS, and chi-square test evaluated contact intensity.

Significant differences were observed among groups for contact presence/absence and interference distribution. Agreement with the ROCS was low: group 1 (κ = 0.291), group 2 (κ = 0.254), and group 3 (κ = 0.163). Anterior guidance showed higher agreement: group 1 (κ = 0.500), group 2 (κ = 0.409), and group 3 (κ = 0.233). Groups 1 and 2 generated fewer and weaker interferences, whereas group 3 showed more strong contacts.

Arbitrary virtual articulator programming increased the likelihood of strong occlusal contacts after milling, whereas dynamic and individualized programming improved agreement with the ROCS. However, agreement remained only fair in all groups, indicating that further refinement of current programming strategies is required.