Comparative Study Qualitative and Quantitative Techniques in the Study of Occlusion

Introduction. The wide variety of methods for recording occlusal contacts and the contradictory data on the interpretation of the obtained markings provoked us to make a comparative laboratory study between different occlusal indicators. Purpose. Evaluation of a qualitative and quantitative method for registration of occlusal contacts in static occlusion in laboratory conditions. Materials and Methods. In completion of the objective, we designed an apparatus for registration of the occlusal contacts (AROC) in static occlusion which is used, corresponding to the MIP in clinical conditions. The occlusal indicators that were included in the study were articulating paper 100 mu, articulating foil 12 mu, and T-Scan Novus system with a sensor thickness of 100 mu. The collected primary statistical information was entered and processed with the statistical package SPSS Statistics 19.0, and the graphs were prepared using Microsoft Office 2019. We performed descriptive statistical analysis in this study. Comparisons were performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Student's t-test, and Pearson coefficient method. For a significance level, p<0.05 was chosen. Result and Discussion. With quality occlusal indicators, it is possible only to visually determine the size, number, and intensity of the marked contacts. After the statistical processing of the obtained data on the number of registered contacts, a significant difference is found in the number of contacts of certain teeth (18, 24, 25, 28, 38, 35, 34, 33, 44, 45, and 48) registered with articulating paper and articulating foil. The maximum force that is reported during the study with the T-Scan system is 93.72% and the forces in the right half of the dentition are 51.7% and in the left 48.9%. To visualize the location of the registered occlusal contacts with the system, it is intraoral to use a quality indicator and we recommend the use of articulating foil. Conclusion. Based on findings from the current in vitro simulation, we can conclude that the type of occlusal indicator influences the registration of contacts, and therefore, we propose as a method of choice to achieve a balanced occlusion in clinical practice to combine the use of one conventional and one quantitative method.