S E C T I O N EDITOR

S t u d y of the acceptability of lateral i n t e r o c c l u s a l r e c o r d s by

a m o d u l a r articulator
Mohammed

Aleem Abdullah,

BDS, MDS a

College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

S e m i a d j u s t a b l e articulators are e x t e n s i v e l y u s e d for r o u t i n e restorative procedures.
The i n s t r u m e n t s m a y be adjusted b y lateral i n t e r o c c l u s a l records. H o w e v e r , it has
b e e n r e p o r t e d that s e m i a d j u s t a b l e articulators do not accept lateral interocclusal
records f r o m all patients. The H a n a u m o d u l a r s y s t e m 194 s e m i a d j u s t a b l e articulator
w a s i n t r o d u c e d to d e v e l o p o c c l u s i o n w i t h m i n i m a l error. The m a n u f a c t u r e r recomm e n d s that the i n s t r u m e n t s h o u l d be adjusted by m e a n s of lateral i n t e r o c c l u s a l
records. This s t u d y i n v e s t i g a t e d the acceptability of lateral i n t e r o c c l u s a l records. Sixty
lateral i n t e r o c c l u s a l records w e r e m a d e for 30 e d e n t u l o u s subjects, a n d t h e acceptability of the records w a s e v a l u a t e d by use of the split-cast m o u n t i n g procedure. Out of 60
lateral i n t e r o c c l u s a l records, 52 (87%) records w e r e a c c e p t e d by the articulator. A Z
test w a s u s e d for t w o p r o p o r t i o n s a n d w a s statistically s i g n i f i c a n t (p < 0.05). (J
PROSTHET DENT 1995;74:408-11.)

~..Demiadjustable articulators are used for routine

restorative procedures. Before the occlusion is established,
the condylar mechanism of semiadjustable instruments is
adjusted with the use of the patient's lateral interocclusal
records. 1-4 The lateral interocclusal records are used to
program the instrument for working condylar movement.
Several investigators have reported that semiadjustable
articulators do not accept lateral interocclusal records
made for all patients. 5 7 A clinical study by Bell and Matich s evaluated the acceptability of lateral records used to
set the condylar elements of the Whip-Mix articulator
(Whip-Mix Corp., Louisville, Ky.) and reported that of 50
lateral interocclusal records, 40 (80%) were accepted. Gaston et al. 9 reported that the Hanau Model H-2 articulator
(Teledyne Hanau, Buffalo, N. Y.) accepted 39 (70%) of 56
lateral interocclusal records made for edentulous patients.
Because semiadjustable instruments do not accept lateral records with fidelity, the use of such instruments in
fixed partial denture treatment may result in restorations
with occlusal errors in patients with immediate side shifts
and absence of an immediate anterior disclusion that requires posterior group function occlusion.47 For the same
reason semiadjustable instruments produce errors in balance occlusion when used for complete dentures. 5 The contemporary semiadjustable instruments are provided with
modifications of condylar mechanism to simulate the

Supported by a grant from College of Dentistry Research Center

(CDRC) no. 1055.
aAssistant Professor, Departmemt of Prosthetic Dental Sciences.
Copyright 9 1995 by The Editorial Council of THE JOURNALOF
PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY.

0022-3913/95/$5.00 + 0. 1011165832

408

THE J O U R N A L OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY

working condylar movement for better acceptability of lateral records. 4 The Hanau modular articulator system 194
(Teledyne Hanau) was recently introduced with modifications of the condylar mechanism to simulate human working condyle movements (Fig. 1). The modular articulator
incorporates the curved component of movement to the
immediate side shift. This incorporation permits the working condylar element to follow a curved path as it shifts
laterally (Fig. 2). The manufacturer claims that the curved
path compares favorably to the movement of the working
condyle that is found in patients and recommends that the
instrument may be set by the use of lateral interocclusal
records for the construction of complete dentures. 1~
This clinical study was undertaken to determine the acceptability of lateral interocclusal records made for edentulous patients with the Hanau modular articulator system 194.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Thirty edentulous patients of both sexes ranging in age
from 35 to 55 years of age who were free of tempor0mandibular joint dysfunction and local and systemic pathologic
conditions were selected. Maxillary and mandibular final
impressions were made with custom acrylic resin trays.
The custom trays were border-molded with low-fusing
compound, and impressions were made in permelastic
regular body rubber base material (Sybron/Kerr, Romulus,
Mich.). Final maxillary and mandibular edentulous casts
were made in dental stone (Densite Stone, Vel-Mix, Sybron/
Kerr) for each patient. Permanent record bases were made
with heat-curing denture base acrylic resin. Before the patient's mouth was examined for proper extension, stability,
and retention, each record base was finished and polished.

VOLUME 74 NUMBER 4

ABDULLAH

The soft-tissue undercut surfaces of the permanent

maxillary and mandibular record bases were blocked out
with wax, and mounting casts were made. The mounting
casts were made with dental stone (Vel-Mix, Sybron/Kerr),
and wax occlusion rims were constructed.
Before the maxillary cast was mounted in the Hanau
modular system 194 articulator, the condylar mechanisms
were set according to Hanau manual instructions; that is,
the condylar horizontal inclination was set at 0 degrees,
immediate side shift at 3 mm, and medial wall guide at six
degrees. A face-bow registration was made with a Hanau
spring face-bow (Teledyne Hanau) for each patient. A Hanau mount split-cast mounting plate (model 163-1, Teledyne Hanau) was used to mount the maxillary cast (Fig. 3).
This mounting method produced a definite demarcation
line at the split-cast surface. The split-cast mounting permitted accurate articulator adjustment to interocclusal
records by visual examination at the four notched cast indexes.
A tentative centric relation record was made at the vertical dimension of occlusion. The mandibular cast was attached to the articulator with this record. An intraoral
tracing device (Teledyne Hanau) was attached to the
record bases with sticky wax. The central bearing point
was fixed to the maxillary record base, and the plate was
attached to the mandibular record base. The central bearing point was set to maintain contact at the vertical
dimension of occlusion. A mixture of rouge and isopropyl
alcohol was used to coat the plate for recording the mandibular movements.
With the record bases in the mouth, the patient was
guided first into centric relation and then to the left and
right lateral positions. At the end of the training period, the
metal plate was painted again with a mixture of rouge and
isopropyl alcohol, and the tracing was reproduced. The
tracing was verified for reproducibility of a sharp arrowhead. The mandibular record base was removed from the
patient's mouth. A transparent plastic shim with a hole in
its center was secured to the plate with sticky wax such
that the apex of the tracing coincided with the hole. The
mandibular record base was again placed in the mouth,
and the patient was instructed to close in the retrnded position with the pin positioned in the hole of the shim. While
the patient maintained this position, impression plaster
(Harry J. Bosworth Co., Chicago, Ill.) was injected with a
syringe on the buccal sides of the intraoral device. After the
plaster had set, the assembly was removed from the
mouth. Three centric relation records were made in the
usual manner and were used to verify the tentative centric
jaw relation record on the articulator. The verification
procedure was repeated until centric relation record was
proved correct.
The recording assembly was removed from the casts and
cleaned, and the plastic shim was removed. The recording
bases were placed in the patients' mouths, and the patients
were guided into the various positions as they were

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THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY

Fig. 1: Hanau modular articulator system 194.

instructed in the training session. The central bearing

point maintained contact with the plate during the jaw
movement. At the same time the amount of lateral movement of the mandible was controlled by observing the relationship of the maxillary and mandibular midlines of the
occlusion rims. After the training period was completed,
the arrowhead tracing was recorded. The record bases
were removed from the mouth, and the arrowhead tracing
lines were measured by a caliper from the apex. A
minimum of 5 mm lateral movement of the tracing was accepted for evaluation. The record bases were returned to
the mouth. Impression plaster was placed on the mandibular metal plate, and the patient was guided first into centric relation and then into right lateral jaw position while
the central bearing point remained in contact with the
plate. The patient maintained this position until the
impression plaster had set. After the plaster had set, the
assembly was removed from the mouth, and the plaster
record was removed from the assembly without breaking
it. Following the same procedure, a left lateral interocclusal record was made, so right and left lateral interocclusal records were made for each of the 30 subjects.
The lateral records were placed on the articulator to determine their acceptability by the instrument. The maxillary cast was separated from the mounting, and the record
bases were seated on the maxillary and mandibular casts.
Right lateral plaster record was placed between the bases,
and the casts were luted together with wooden sticks and
sticky wax; this assembly was then mounted on the articulator. The upper arm of the articulator was closed, and the

409

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ABDULLAH

:~i:!?:i!iJi!i~i!~:ili!

F i g . 2. Condylar guide mechanism of 194 Articulator. A~ Condylar guidance of articulator i s designed to incoporate curved p a t h for i m m e d i a t e side shift. B, Schematic representation of condylar guidance. A, B, A 3 m m i m m e d i a t e side shift; C, curve path, D, progressive B e n n e t t agle, and E, curved posterior wall of condylar guidance.

condylar mechanisms were adjusted to obtain a union of

the m a x i l l a r y cast and the split-cast mounting plate a t the
four notches. The uniform contact a t the four notches was
visually noted a n d recorded as acceptable. A space between
the cast a n d the split-cast m o u n t i n g plate at the four
notches visually noted was recorded as unacceptable. A
similar procedure was followed to evaluate the left l a t e r a l
interocclusal record. In this m a n n e r a total of 60 l a t e r a l
interocclusal records were evaluated. The acceptable and
unacceptable d a t a of right a n d left sides were subjected to
a Z test of one sample proportion.
RESULTS

F i g . 3. H a n a u - m o u n t , split-cast mounting plate.

Table I. Distribution of right a n d left lateral

interocclusal records of 30 edentulous subjects

410

Accepted

Not accepted

Side

(%)

(%)

Total

Right side
Left side
Total

28 (93)
24 (80)
52

2 (7)
6 (20)
8

30
30
60

A total of 60 l a t e r a l interocclusal records were m a d e for

30 edentulous patients. The distribution of right and left
lateral interocclusal records either accepted or not accepted by the H a n a u m o d u l a r articulator are presented in
Table I. Out of the 60 l a t e r a l interocclusal records, 52 (87%)
records were accepted by the articulator. With the Z test
used for one sample proportion, this value was found to be
highly statistically significant (p < 0.00001).
It was also found t h a t 28 (93%) of 30 right lateral records
and 24 (80%) of 30 left l a t e r a l records were accepted by the
articulator. Application of a Z t e s t for two sample proportions d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t no difference existed between the
percentage values of acceptance of right and left l a t e r a l
records (p 0.087).

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THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC D E N T I S T R Y

DISCUSSION
Lateral interocclusal records have been recommended to
program a semiadjustable articulator for restorative procedures. 4-7To minimize occlusal error many contemporary
semiadjustable instruments are provided with a curved
protrusive condylar path, but the side shift path remains
straight. The recently introduced Hanau modular system
194 semiadjustable articulator has a curved protrusive
and a curved side shift path. The curved side shift path has
a curvature of 3 mm radius, which permits the working
condylar element to follow a radial curve path as it shifts
laterally. 10
The acceptability of lateral records made by the Hanau
H2 that had both straight protrusive and side shift paths
was 70%, and that for the Whip Mix instrument with a
curved protrusive and a straight side shift path was 80%.
This study reported 87% acceptability of the lateral records
for the Hanau Modular system 194. A Z test for two proportions indicated that the value of acceptability of lateral
record by the Hanau Modular system 194 when compared
with the values of Hanau H2 and Whip-Mix instruments
was significantly different (Z 1.98, p < 0.05). It is most
likely that the curved protrusive and curved side shift
paths permitted a greater percentage of acceptability of
interocclusal lateral records. However, all the lateral
records from 30 edentulous patients were not accepted
with fidelity, because the working condyle path in any
given patient may be in one of nine lateral directions
within the confines ofa 3 mm high and 60-degree cone. The
study ofAull6 reported that out of 50 patients, 84% exhibited laterotrusion of working condyle tracing with both
vertical and horizontal components. The Hanau modular
system 194 used in this study does not have adjustable top
and back walls and therefore cannot accept all of the lateral records.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
To minimize occlusal error in complete dentures that
require balanced occlusion and in fixed partial dentures for
patients who require group function occlusion, a semiadjustable instrument that has a high percentage of acceptability of lateral records may be used while recognizing the

shortcomings of the instrument so that less clinical time is

spent to harmonize occlusion.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The acceptability of the right and left lateral interocclusal records by Hanau modular system 194 articulator
was investigated on 30 edentulous patients. Acceptability
of right and left lateral interocclusal records was evaluated
with the use of the split-cast procedure. Conclusions from
the results of this study are the following.
1. Of the 60 lateral interocclusal records, 52 (87%) were
accepted by the articulator and found to be statistically
significant (p < 0.05).
2. No significant difference (p 0.087) was seen between
the number of right and left records accepted by the
instrument.
REFERENCES
1. Boucher CO. Swenson's complete dentures. 6th ed. St Louis: CV Mosby
Co, 1970:152-4.
2. Dawson PE. Evaluation, diagnosis and treatment ofocclusal problems.
2nd ed. St Louis: CV Mosby Co, 1989:230.
3. Heartwell CM Jr, Rahn AO. Syllabus of complete dentures. 4th ed.
Pbdladelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1986:92-3.
4. Hobo S, Shillingburg HT Jr, Whitsett LD. Articulator selection for restorative dentistry. J PROST~ETDENT 1976;36:35-43.
5. Weinberg LA. An evaluation of basic articulators and their concepts.
Part II. Arbitrary, positional, semiadjustable articulators. J PROST~mT
DENT 1963;13:645-63.
6. Aull AE. Condylar determinants ofocclusal patterns. J PROSTHETDENT
1965;15:826-49.
7. Bellanti ND. The significance of articulator capabilities. Part I.
Adjustable versus semiadjustable articulators. J PROSTHET DENT
1973;29: 269-75.
8. Bell LJ, Matich JA. A study ofthe acceptability oflateral records by the
Whip-Mix articulator. J PROSTm~TDENT 1977;38:22-5.
9. Gaston ML, Brady RE, Vermilyea SG, Moergeli JR Jr. A study of the
acceptability of lateral interocclusal records by the Hanau H-2 articulator. J PROSTHETDENT 1985;53:252-6.
10. The Hanau modular articulator system 194 illustrated instruction
manual. Buffalo, NY: Hanau Engineering Co, 1989:5-7.
Reprint requests to:
MO~MED ALEEMA~DULL~4,BDS, MDS
COLLEGEOF DENTISTRY
KING SAUDUNIVERSITY
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RIYADH11545
SAUDIARABIA

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