The role of mechanical and virtual articulator in prosthodontics, where are we now?

Webinar Coordinator: Prof. Marco Ferrari,
President, European Prosthodontic Association

Abstract:
The use of articulators in order to design our dental prosthesis with a correct occlusal pattern, according to the use of a facebow, stablishing an ideal vertical dimension and a correct horizontal orientation between the maxilla and the mandible has always been the normal workflow for prosthodontists.

Nevertheless, not every dentist pays attention to this protocol because it takes extra time, needs special equipment and even the scientific literature is not very consistent in its result about the benefits of using or not these protocols.

On the other hand, since the introduction of the CAD/CAM workflow, the use of an intraoral or extra oral scanner in order to obtain a 3d model of the patient’s mouth and after that adjusting the occlusion with a virtual articulator that uses algorithm to simulate the movement of the mandible, is a new way of designing our occlusal pattern for the prosthesis. Furthermore, the jaw track motion devices allow us to configure this CAD virtual articulator by using the real patients parameters and even movements.

The aim of this presentation is to deeply revise the state of the art of mechanical and virtual articulators in order to clarify it role, use and effectiveness.