Occlusion in practice

Understanding occlusion and factoring it into treatment early on is a fundamental aspect of providing the best care for your patients, improving your clinical success and strengthening your practice as a going concern. This applies to all aspects of dentistry, since there are very few dental treatments that do not involve the occlusal surfaces of the teeth.

Restorative dentistry

Where treatment involves the occlusal surfaces of the teeth, occlusion is relevant.

Put succinctly by Davies and colleagues in 2001, “Successful occlusal management leads to: predictable fitting of restorations and prostheses, longevity and absence of iatrogenic problems, patient comfort and occlusal stability.”

Examination is the prudent place to start, a process that should include examining and recording the occlusion prior to any treatment taking place. Recognising that such methods are best practice, most clinicians use the conformative approach, which is defined as providing restorations that are “… in harmony with the existing jaw relationships.”