Quantitative Study On The Reliability Of Articulating Paper

The goal of the restorative or prosthodontic therapy is to establish a stable occlusal contact relationship between restoration and the antagonistic teeth or restoration, and to make the occlusion suitable for the patient's own periodontal tissue, temporomandibular joint and musculature.The occlusal indicator is an important tool for dentist to identify the disharmony factors of occlusion. Articulating paper is widely used in our country by the dentist. Though there are few reports of the quality of the restoration on occlusion, the iatrogenic occlusal problems occur frequently.The aim of the study was to evaluate the reliability of the articulating paper by quantitatively analyzing the occlusal contacts of the crown restoration with T-scan III system. The results are as followed: 1 The quantitative study of the occlusion of the crown restoration. 1) There are 34.4 percent of the restorations were not integrated successfully in ICP, such as out of contacts or having premature contacts with antagonistic teeth; 2) The average number of occlusal contact point, occlusal contact area and occlusal force of the crowns, were less than those of the contralateral first molars(p<0.05); 3) The intensity of occlusal contacts of the bilateral arch still existed significant difference even after the cementation of the crowns; the COF mainly locates on the arch without crown restoration 4) After the cementation of the crowns, the difference of the occlusal intensity between the bilateral arch has a tendency to shrink, but there was no statistically significant difference with that before the cementation; 5) After the cementation of the crowns, the location of the COF had a tendency to move to central of the dental arch, but when compared with the location before wearing the crown restoration, there was no statistically significant difference. 2 The effect of thickness on the reliability of the articulating paper. 1) Both group A and B had some restorations out of contacts with antagonistic teeth; restorations with premature contacts also could be seen in the group B. 2) The average number of occlusal contact point, occlusal contact area and occlusal force of the crowns in group A and B, were less than those of the contralateral first molars(p<0.05); but the difference between group A and B had no statistically significant difference. 3) The recovery degree of occlusion of the crowns in group A and B was similar(p>0.05); the recovery degree of occlusion reaching 25%- 50% was the most, followed by 50% to 75% while 75% or higher was more less. ConclusionDentist could not successfully execute the occlusal adjustment with articulating paper which reflected the limitations of this material. The recovery degree of occlusal force, occlusal contact area and occlusal contact point of the crowns were different. The recovery degree of occlusion reaching 25%- 50% was the most. The intensity of occlusal contacts of the bilateral arch still existed significant differences even after the cementation of the crowns. Even using articulating papers of different thickness, the dentist still failed to improve the quality of the occlusal adjustment. In addition to the influence of thickness, there are also other factors that interfering with the accuracy of articulating paper. So, how to improve the reliability and accuracy of the articulating paper needs further research.