A Comparison of Occlusal Schemes with Condylar Inclination and Anterior Guidance in Dentate Individuals.

Purpose: To compare occlusal schemes with condylar inclination and anterior guidance in dentate individuals.

Materials and methods: A total of 26 dentate patients of Indian origin between the ages of 18 and 30 with canine-guided occlusion and 26 patients with group function occlusion were included in the study. The School of Articulator Munich (SAM) Axioquick system was used to assess the condylar guidance and eccentric tracings of the patients. For analyses, Student t test was used. For quantitative data, the means and SDs were calculated. For statistical analyses, the probability of type-I error of .05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The mean condylar guidance for canine-guided and group function occlusion was 38.4 ± 12.7 degrees and 30.5 ± 12.5 degrees on the right side, respectively. On the left side it was 36.5 ± 13.0 degrees and 27.5 ± 12.0 degrees for canine-guided and group function occlusion, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P = .01). The condylar guidance, incisal guidance, Bennett angle, protrusion, left lateral and right lateral movement, and left and right lateral angles were analyzed statistically between the two types of occlusions. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups for all parameters except right condylar guidance. Furthermore, all parameters were higher in the canine-guided occlusion group over group function occlusion.

Conclusions: Within the study limitations, it was concluded that the condylar guidance was steeper in canine-guided occlusion than in group function occlusion. The eccentric parameters were steeper in canine-guided occlusion than in group function occlusion. This study showcases that the condylar guidance might not play a major role in determining the occlusal scheme but that the incisal guidance determines the occlusal scheme predominantly in Class 1 occlusion patients.