We believe that the primary goal of an occlusal scheme is first to make sure that we have good stability on closure so that the vertical loading of teeth is balanced all the way around the arch.
We also believe that the patient does not have the ability to rub on posterior teeth.
Rubbing on posterior teeth will increase muscle activity and will almost always lead to some kind of breakdown whether it’s:
- Wear
- Mobility
- Migration
- Sore musculature
This can lead to headaches and maybe even potentially damage to the joint. If the back teeth aren’t going to rub, then anterior guidance is only second to centric relation for making sure we have a stable seated joint.
We believe in making sure that those lingual contours are steep enough to disclude the back teeth but still be in harmony without how the lower jaw moves or be in harmony with the envelope of function.
If you ask a Dawson person about anterior guidance, we spend a lot of time in customizing each anterior guidance with each of our patients. And we believe it’s hugely important.
Photo Credit: Rob Watling via Compfight cc
