Diagnostic Occlusal Adjustment: Case Presentation for Dental Students

INTRODUCTION: The concept of occlusal therapy as an aspect of overall patient care can be difficult for a dental student to grasp. A clear understanding of the position of the teeth, temporomandibular joints, and articulator components is necessary as the position of the teeth and condyles moves from centric relation to maximum intercuspation. METHODS: This slide-show presentation, self-assessment rubric, and instructor guide were created to enhance student understanding of occlusal concepts. Peter Dawson's occlusal concept of mutually protected occlusion is demonstrated as duplicated casts are adjusted to make centric relations and maximum intercuspation equal. RESULTS: This educational resource has been utilized for the past 2 years at our dental school as part of the preclinical occlusion course. It has also been used in the dental clinic for third- and fourth-year students as the need arises for occlusal adjustment on a patient. While we have no hard data on the number of times it has been utilized, the feedback from faculty and students has been positive. The students are consistently able to utilize the educational resource to guide them through the steps of performing a diagnostic occlusal adjustment to the satisfaction of the proctoring faculty. DISCUSSION: Existing articles and textbooks mention all of the concepts and steps seen in this resource, but the limitation of print media results in minimization and consolidation of these concepts and steps. This resource presents the detail that is lacking in textbooks.