ARTICULATORS

DR.MUHAMMAD AAMIR RAFIQ

ASSISTANT PROF.
Articulators
 A mechanical device that represents the
temporomandibular joints and jaw member to
which maxillary and mandibular casts may be
attached to simulate jaw movement.

 A mechanical representation of the jaws and temporo-

mandibular joints
 ARTICULATION DEPENDS UPON

Incisal guidance

Condylar guidance
 PURPOSES

( primary function of an articulator is to act as a)

Patient in the absence of patient
hold maxillary and mandibular cast in a
determined fixed relationship.
To simulate the jaw movements like opening
and closing.
To produce the border movements(extreme
lateral and protrusive movements) and intra-
border movements(within the border
movement)of the teeth similar to those in the mouth.
 USES/FUNCTIONS

1-Mounting The Dental Casts for diagnosis, treatment

planning and patient presentation.)
- treatment planning
selective grinding
functional prewax
esthetic prewax
orthodontic setup
2- Fabrication of occlusal surfaces for dental
restorations
3- Correct and modify completed restorations.
4- Arrangement of artificial teeth for RPD and CD
 ADVANTAGES

1-Better visualization of patient’s occlusion.

2-Patient’s cooperation is not a factor when using an
articulator.
3-Refinement of complete denture occlusion is
difficult because of denture bases and resiliency of
supporting tissues. Articulator eliminate this difficulty.
4-Reduced chair time and patient’s appointment
time, which is required when utilizing mouth as an
articulator
5- Patient’s saliva, tongue,, and cheeks are not
factors when using an articulator.
 CLASSIFICATIONS

Based on theories of occlusion

Bonwill theory articulators
Conical theory articulator
Spherical theory articulator
Based on adjustability of articulator
Non adjustable
Semi adjustable
Fully adjustable
Based on ability to simulate jaw movements
Class I
 only vertical movement is possible.
Class II
 permit vertical and horizontal movements but do
not orient the motion to TMJ with a face bow.
 A-limited eccentric motion permitted is based on average or arbitrary valuese.g mean
value articulator
 B-eccentric motion permitted is based on theories of arbitrary motione.g Monson’s
articulator , Hall articulators.
 C-eccentric motion permitted is determined by the patient using engraving methods.e.g
House articulator
Class III
Permit horizontal and vertical movements they do
accept face-bow transfer but the facility is limited.
 A-accept a static protrusive registration and use equivalents for the rest of motion.e.g
Hanau H
 B-accept static lateral protrusive registration and use equvalents for the rest of motion.e.g
Panadent , Trubite
Class IV
Accept three dimensional dynamic registrations.
Accurately reproduce the condylar pathways for each
patient. They allow joint orientation of casts using
face bow transfer.
 A determine by engraving registrations e.g TMJ articulator
 B-similar to a but allow angulation and customization of the condylar
path .eg stuart instrument gnathoscope.
 POSSELT’S CLASSIFICATION(1968)

Simple

Average value articulators types with fixed condylar path and incisal inclines

Adjustable articulator
 Parts of an articulator

Condylar mechanism
Condylar ball
condylar track
Condylar shaft
Incisal pin
Incisal table
Upper member
Lower member
Mechanical features that determine adjustment
 SIMPLE ARTICULATOR

Simple/hinge/plain line articulator

Not true articulator
Occludators/casts holders/casts relaters
Permit only a simple hinge movement around
horizontal axis.
Casts and horizontal axis distance is arbitrarily
determined and less than the distance between
patient’s TMJ and teeth.
Advantages
Hold the casts in an intercuspal position ///more

Disadvantages
Cannot copy or simulate eccentric jaw movements
Cannot be use to diagnose occlusal interfernces in
retruded contact position
Restoration may have to adjusted in mouth.
Cast Holder
Cast Holder
 AVERAGE VALUE ARTICULATOR

Monson,Bonwill and Gysi.

Here simple hinge is replace by a mechanism which
allows the upper member to be moved upward and
backward relative to lower.
Designed by using average values for condylar angle
and tooth condyle relationship.
 about 30 degree angle is made by condylar guide to occlusal
plane in average individual.
 Anterior part of the upper member is supported by incisal guide rod through upper and incisal guide
table on lower. The
 angle of incisal guidance is about 10 to 15 degree.
Average Value
 BONWILL TRIANGLE

BONWILL 1854
4”

4”
Articulators
 SEMI ADJUSTABLE ARTICULATOR

These are adjustable in 2 –D.

Allow adjustments in
condylar angle and relation of the ridges and teeth to
these angulations.
Incisal angulation and lateral Bennett movement.
They are about the same size as the anatomic
structures they represent.
Do not require any unusual amount of time or
expertise
Reduced chair side adjustments of prostheses.
 Arcon :
Condylar fossae are the upper member of the
articulator.

Non-Arcon:
Condylar fossae are the lower member of the
articulator.
Articulators

Semi-adjustable

Can alter;
•TMJ to Incisor distance
•Bennett Angle
•Condylor Guidance
Angle
•Incisal guidance plate
Articulators

•Needs Facebow
recording
•Ideally should be used
for complete denture
cases
Arcon pic
 Dentatus

Non Arcon
ARCON VS NON-ARCON

Arcon Non-arcon
 ARCON VS NON-ARCON

Popular in complete denture because the upper and lower

member are rigidly attached, enabling easier control when
artificial teeth are positioned. As a consequence of their design,
however, certain in accuracies occur in cast restorations, which
led to the development of the arcon type instrument.
The arcon articulator is anatomically “correct” which make
understanding of mandibular movements easier, as opposed to
the nonarcon articulator.
The angulation of the mechanical fossae of an arcon
instrument is fixed in relation to the occlusal plan of the
maxillary cast; in the nonarcon design, it is fixed in relation to
the occlusal plan of the mandibular cast.
 FULLY ADJUSTABLE ARTICULATOR


adjustability in 3D.
Sophisticated articulator with a long range of

 Reserved for diagnostic, prognostic and complex

procedures i.e. full mouth rehabilitations, when all four
quadrants are to restore.
Pantographic tracing are used to record the patient’s
border movements in a series of tracing.
Increased accuracy in reproduction of mandibular
movements.
Minimal adjustment at insertion.
Very complex and time consuming, need skill, so
usually not use in general practice.
pic
Articulator with facebow/pentograph
 lots

Difficulty
of
use

none

Hand Av S-A Fully

Held Value Adjustable
lots

Amount of adjustment

Hand Av S-A Fully

Held Value Adjustable
 lots

Cost

none

Hand Av S-A Fully

Held Value Adjustable
Articulator use vs time vs cost

lots lots

Amount of adjustment
Difficulty
of
use
Cost

none none

Hand Av S-A Fully

Held Value Adjustable
 SELECTION OF AN ARTICULATOR

1-If occlusion contacts are to be perfected in

centric relation only, then a simple hinge
articulator can be selected.
2-If denture teeth are to have cross arch and cross
tooth balanced occlusion, then minimum
requirement is semi adjustable e.g. Hanau or
Whipmix.
3-If complete control of occlusion is desired, a
completely adjustable, 3dimensional articulator is
selected.
Selection of
 REQUIREMENTS OF AN ARTICULATOR

Minimumal articulator requirements

 1-It should hold casts in correct horizontal relationship.
2-It should hold casts in correct vertical relationship.
3-It should provide a positive anterior vertical stop (incisal pin)
 4-It should accept a face bow transfer record utilizing anterior reference point.
5-It should open and close in a hinge movement.
6-It should allow protrusive and lateral jaw motion.
 7-The moving parts should move freely and be accurately machined.
 8-The non-moving parts should be a rigid construction made of non corrosive
material.
9-The patient casts must be easily removable and attachable to the articulator without
loosing their correct horizontal and vertical relationship.
 10-The design should be such that there is adequate distance between the upper
and lower members and that vision is not obscured from rear.
 11-The articulator should be stable on laboratory bench and not too bulky and heavy.
 Additional articulator requirements

1-Condylar guides should allow lateral and protrusive

movements.
2-Condylar guides should be adjustable horizontally
3-Articulator should have provision for adjustment of
Bennett movement.
4-Incisal table should be a mechanical table that can
be adjusted in the sagittal and frontal planes or a
table that can be customized with autpolymerizing
resin or grinding.
Further more
LIMITATIONS OF AN ARTICULATOR

1-Metal articulator may show errors in tooling or errors

resulting from metal fatigue.
2-It is unlikely for any articulator to duplicate condylar
movements in the TMJ.
3-May or may not simulate the intra-border or functional
movements of the mandible.
4-The movements simulated are empty mouth sliding
motions, not functional movements.
5-Error in jaw relation procedures are reproduced as an
errors in denture occlusion. Articulators do not have any
provision to indicate or correct these errors
 MAINTENANCE OF ARTICULATOR
1- Avoid getting wax or stone in the screw holes.
2-Tighten screws but not too tightly.
3-It is always better to use a carrying case when the articulator is carried
to and from the lab.
4-Dropping the articulator may result in bent or broken parts which may
affect the articulator’s ability to accurately reproduce a patient
mandibular movement.
5-Using caustic stone, failure to remove excess stone or not keeping the
articulator clean may result in corrosion of articulator surfaces.
6-A thin film of lubricant as in Whip mix- Whip mix lubri plate should be
applied to the surfaces upon which the condylar elements move to
provide a smooth action of these parts.
 CONCLUSION

 Numerous articulators are available for the fabrication of dental restorations. Some are very
simple in design with limited movements, while others are very complex with numerous
attachments and adjustments. There is a considerable controversies to which articulator are
‘best’ for a particular dental procedure. Often, this controversy becomes quite emotional, to the
point where strong allegiances to a particular instrument and its recommended technique are
developed. Yet, the success or failure of final restoration is more dependent on the operator of
the articulator than on articulator itself. The late Carl .O. Boucher summed up the articulator
controversy by stating, “It must be recognized that the person operating the instrument is more
important than the instrument. If dentists understand articulators and their deficiencies, they
can compensate for their inherent inadequacies.”
 So for conventional complete dentures, mean value articulator can be used. In complex cases,
where balancing is required, anatomical articulators should be used.
 In RPD, semi-adjustable articulators are preferred.
 In FPD, use of simple hinge articulators may lead to occlusal discrepancies in the final

restoration which has to be corrected later in mouth, so it is time consuming, so semi-

adjustable articulators are preferred.
 Fully adjustable articulators are indicated when all the four quadrants are involved or in cases
of full mouth rehabilitation when there is an abnormal deviation of mandible.
 Summary

The choice of articulator depends upon such factors

as;

 Intended use - Skill of the technician

 Availability of equipment - Expense
 Patient's occlusion - Skill of the operator

 The more closely the articulator matches the patients

anatomy, usually the better the outcome and the less
adjustment is required at chairside on fitting prostheses.