A comparative study to measure the sagittal condylar inclination using mechanical articulator, virtual articulator and jaw tracking device

PURPOSE: To compare the sagittal condylar inclination (SCI) in dentate individuals measured by the different methods with mechanical articulator (MA), virtual articulator (VA), and a jaw tracking device (JTD) system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 22 healthy dentate participants were enrolled in this study. For MA workflow, the SCI was obtained by a semi-adjustable articulator with protrusive interocclusal records. The SCI was also set on a VA by aligning intraoral scan (IOS) with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and facial scan (FS), respectively. These virtual workflows were conducted in a dental design software, namely VA(IOS-CBCT) and VA(IOS-FS). Meanwhile, a JTD system was also utilized to perform the measurement. Intraclass correlation was used to assess the repeatability within workflows. The bilateral SCI values were compared by Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test for each workflow, and Kruskal-Wallis test and post hoc p-value Bonferroni correction were used to compare the differences among four workflows. The agreement of VA(IOS-CBCT), VA(IOS-FS), and JTD compared with MA was evaluated by Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation of the SCI revealed a high degree of repeatability for each workflow. There were no significant differences between the left and right sides (P > .05), except for VA(IOS-CBCT) (P = .028). Significant differences were not found between MA and VA(IOS-FS) (P > .05). Bland-Altman plots indicated VA(IOS-CBCT), VA(IOS-FS), and JTD were considered to substitute MA with high 95% limits of agreement. CONCLUSION: The workflow of VA(IOS-FS) provided an alternative approach to measure the SCI compared with MA.