Effect of Different Horizontal Condylar Guidance Registration Methods and Articulators on Bilateral Balanced Occlusion of Complete Denture

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of different horizontal condylar guidance registration methods and articulators on bilateral balanced occlusion of complete denture. Materials and Methods: Twelve completely edentulous patients with ages ranging from 50-60 years old were selected from the outpatient clinics of the Removable Prosthodontic Department, Faculty of Dental Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University. Twelve complete dentures were constructed according to the balanced occlusal concept and then duplicated for experimental work. Horizontal condylar guidance angles were measured using three different methods; the protrusive interocclusal wax record method, tracing method, and Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scan. The angles were adjusted on two types of articulators; Arcon and non-Arcon articulators. The effect of each method and the effect of the two types of articulators on bilateral balanced occlusion were studied. Results: The result of this study showed that there was no significant difference in bilateral balanced occlusion when using different types of articulators or different horizontal condylar guidance registration methods during the construction of complete denture. Conclusion: Within the limitation of this study, it can be concluded that the Hanau system with the wax protrusive record may be the most practical way to obtain the desired relative horizontal condylar angle.