Dental Occlusion: What It Is and Is Not

This course describes: what dental occlusion is or is not, why it is of importance for the dental professional team, when should basic occlusal principles be employed.

Patients present to dental offices for three main reasons: appearance, function and comfort. Today’s dental teams are more capable than ever to facilitate enhancement in all three of these areas for patients seeking care, with management of a patients dental occlusion being an essential element to optimize results. Dental occlusion is defined by the Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms 10th edition (2023) as: 1) the act or process of closure or of being closed or shut off, 2) the static relationship between the incising or masticating surfaces of the maxillary or mandibular teeth or tooth analogues. This evidence-based presentation, Dental Occlusion: What It Is and Is Not, will explore the relationship of dental occlusion re: stomatognathic system stabilization and TMD/orofacial pain. 

Whether a dental generalist, dental specialist (prosthodontist, orthodontist, periodontist, endodontist, oral surgeon, orofacial pain practitioner), dental hygienist, denturist or dental technician, lessons learned from this didactic/clinical presentation will be immediately applicable to daily clinical patient care. Didactic topics to include: evidence-based dentistry and orofacial pain/TMD basics to occlusion and facially generated treatment planning for everyday interdisciplinary dentistry. Clinical (demonstration/practical hands-on) topics to include: evaluation/examination and mandibular guidance basics with intermaxillary record securing (for conventional and digital).