The swallowing position as a centric relation record

A brief review of the swallowing position and its relation to centric relation records was presented. Intraoral tracings of the swallowing position for six patients were made at the natural occlusal vertical dimension. Deviations of the position from the IP were measured. The swallowing position deviated anteroposteriorly and laterally from the IP, and this raises questions as to the validity of this method for recording centric relation.