Articulators

A mechanical instrument that represents the

temporo mandibular joint and jaws, to which
maxillary and mandibular casts may be
attached to simulate some or all mandibular
movement.
(GPT-8)

Plaster Articulator
Philip Pfaff (1756)

Barn door hinge articulator

VIRTUAL ARTICULATORS

Additional Requirements
Adjustable horizontal, lateral condylar guide element &
allow protrusive movements
A mechanism to accept the face bow transfer .
A terminal hinge locking
positional device .
Removable mounting plates
that can be positioned accurately
An adjustable incisal guide table
Adjustable intercondylar width of the condylar element .

ADVANTAGES

Properly mounted cast allow the operated to better visualize

the patient occlusion from the lingual side.

Patients co-operation is not required, once the Interocclusal

records are obtained from the patients .

Refinement of the complete dentures in the patients mouth

is extremely difficult because of shifting of denture bases
and resiliency of the supporting tissues. This does not take
place in the articulator.

Chair side appointment time is reduced .

Patients tongue ,saliva, check etc. are not a

factors of hindrance under using the articulator .

LIMITATIONS

An articulator is a mechanical device made by

metal hence is subjected to error in tooling and
there by resulting from fatigue and wear .

Articulator will not duplicate but simulates the

condylar movements of TMJ .

Classification
Several classifications of articulators were
proposed. The most popular methods of
classifying articulators are :
Based on the theories of occlusion
Based on the ability to simulate jaw movements.
Based on the adjustability of the articulator.

Classification
based
on
THEORIES of OCCLUSION

Bonwills theory of occlusion .

Conical theory of occlusion (R.E.Hall ) .

Spherical theory of occlusion (G.S.Monson 1918 ) .

BONWILLS THEORY OF
OCCLUSION

Bonwill introduced (1864)

-Theory of Equilateral
Triangle .

4" (10 cm ) distance

occurs between the condyle
and between each condyle
& the incisal point.

CONICAL THEORY OF
OCCLUSION
R.E.HALL (1915)

Lower teeth move over the

surface of the upper teeth as over
the surface of a cone,
cone generating
an angle of 45 with the central
axis of the cone tipped at 45
angle to the occlusal plane.

SPHERICAL THEORY OF
Monson
(1918)
OCCLUSION

Lower teeth moves over the surface of

the upper teeth as over the surface of a
sphere with a diameter of 8 " (20 cm).

The center of the sphere is located in

the region of Glabella and the surfaces
of the sphere passes through the
Glenoid fossa along the articulating
eminences.

Classification
Based
on
the ability to simulate
jaw movements

At the international Prosthodontic Workshop on

complete denture occlusion at the University of
Michigan in 1972, the articulators were classified based
on the instruments capability, intent, recording
procedure and record acceptance. This is the most widely
used classification .

Class -I
These are simple articulators
capable of accepting a single
static registration. Only vertical
motion is possible. These
articulators are used in cases
where a tentative jaw relation
is done .
Ex : Barn door hinge articulator .

Class II
These articulators permit horizontal and vertical
movements but they do not
orient the movement of TMJ
with a face bow.
Ex: Mean value articulator

Class III
These articulators permit horizontal and vertical
movements. They do accept face bow transfer but
this facility is limited. They cannot allow total
customization of condylar pathways. These
instruments simulate condylar pathways by using
average or mechanical equivalents for the whole or
part of the condylar motion.

Class IV
These articulators accept three
dimensional dynamic registrations. They
are capable of accurately reproducing the
condylar pathways for each
patient. They allow point
orientation of the casts using
a face bow transfer.

CLASSIFICATION
Based
on
the adjustability

Based on the adjustability, articulators can be

classified as
Non-adjustable
Semi-adjustable
Fully adjustable

FULLY
Based
on
the
adjustability
SEMI
ADJUSTABLE
NON
ADJUSTABLE
ADJUSTABLE
of the articulator can accept the

can accept one or

two of following
Based
on the
three
records:

can accept the

following three
adjustability,
records:

following five
records:

articulators

-Face bow record

-Face bow
-Centric jaw
-Face bow record
record
relation record
-Centric jaw
-Centric jaw
-Protrusive record
relation record
Non-adjustable
relation record
-Lateral record
-Protrusive record
-Protrusive
-Inter condylar
Semi-adjustable
record
distance record
Fully adjustable

can be classified as :

Non adjustable articulators

They can open and close in a fixed horizontal axis.

They have a fixed condylar path

along which the condylar element
can be moved to simulate some lateral
and protrusive jaw movement.

The incisal guide pins ride on an inclined plate in a

fixed inclination.

Semi adjustable articulators

They have adjustable horizontal condylar paths,
adjustable lateral condylar paths, adjustable incisal
guide tables and adjustable inter condylar distances.
The degree and ease of these adjustments differ.
There are two types of semi adjustable articulators.

Arcon articulators
Non-arcon articulators

Arcon articulators
The term arcon was derived by Bergstrom from the
words articulator and condyle.
Example : Hanau University series
and Whip mix articulators.
The condylar element is attached to the lower member
of the articulator and the condylar guidance is
attached to the upper member. This articulator
resembles the temporo mandibular joint. (Here, the
condylar guidance is the mechanical analog of the
glenoid fossa).

Non-arcon articulators

These articulators have the condylar elements attached

to the upper member.
The condylar guidance is attached to the lower
member.
This articulator is the reverse of the
temporomandibular joint.
Examples include Hanau H series, Dentatus and Gysi.

Fully adjustable articulators

These articulators have numerous adjustable readings,
which can be customized for each patient. They do not
have condylar guidance instead they have receptacles
in which acrylic dough can be
contoured to form a customized
condylar and incisal guidance.
They are not commonly used due
to their complexity.
Example: Stuart instrument
gnathoscope , simulator by E. Granger.

Mean Value Articulator

It is a non-adjustable articulator. This articulator is designed
using fixed dimensions, which are derived from the average
distance between the incisal and condylar guidance of the
population .
The condylar guidance (equivalent of glenoid fossa) is attached
to the lower member and the condylar element (equivalent of
the mandibular condyle) is attached to the upper member,
hence, it is a non-arcon articulator.

Upper member :
It is a triangular frame with the base of the triangle placed
posteriorly. The apex of the triangle contains a provision to accom
modate the vertical rod (incisal pin). The vertical rod can be locked
in position within the upper member
with the help of a thumbscrew. Two condylar
elements are seen projecting on either side of
the base of the triangle. They articulate with
the condylar guidance of the lower member.
The maxillary cast is attached to the upper
member during articulation .
.

Lower member :

It is a 'L' shaped frame with a horizontal and a

vertical arm. The horizontal arm is triangular in shape. The apex of

the triangle of the horizontal arm contains
the incisal guide table. The vertical arm
contains the condylar guidance slot
at the upper portion .
A fixed metal bar (horizontal bar) is
present in the vertical arm of the lower
member. The plane of occlusion should
coincide with this horizontal bar during
articulation .

Incisal guide table :

Incisal guide Table is defined as, "That part of the articulator
which maintains the incisal guide angle" - GPT. The incisal
guide table gives the incisal guidance of the articulator. The
incisal guide table can be described as a very short cylinder
whose upper surface is concave. The vertical
rod should rest on the centre of the incisal
guide table during articulation. The depth
of the concavity is designed to have a slope
equal to the average incisal guide angle The
incisal guide angle is fixed and non-customizable.

Condylar guidance :
It is represented by a slot (condylar track) located on the upper
part of the vertical arm of the lower member. The slot is
inclined at an angle equal to the average inclination of the
condylar guidance in the population.
The condylar element of the upper member
passes through this track. A spring is mounted
within this track (condylar guidance) to stabilize the condylar
elements when no movements are made. This condylar
guidance does not accept face-bow transfer .

Incisal rod & Incisal pin :

It helps to keep a fixed distance between the upper and lower
members at the anterior end. The vertical rod has a pointed
tip, which should rest on the center of the incisal guide table
during articulation.
At the midpoint of the vertical rod a hole is provided to fit the
incisal guide pin. The tip of the incisal guide pin is the
anterior reference point in this articulator. The incisal edge of
the maxillary incisors at the midline of the occlusal rim
should touch the tip of the incisal pin during articulation The
upper flat surface of the vertical rod should always be locked
flush with the superior surface of the upper member.

Selection of an articulator for

complete dentures

If occlusal contacts are to be perfected in centric relation

only ,then a simple hinge articulator can be selected .

If denture teeth are to have cross arch and cross tooth

balanced occlusion then minimum requirement is semi
adjustable articulator.

If complete control of occlusion is desired , a

completely adjustable articulator is selected.

Parts
of
hanau articulator

Condylar guidance :
The condylar guidance's are the control centers of the
Articulator and their adjustably assimilate the
multiple function of the glenoid fossa .

The closed condylar guidance track rotates in an enclosed

housing which stops the Condylar Element ,preventing the
accidental disengagement of the upper member .

DUAL -END INCISAL

PIN

ADJUSTABLE INCISAL GUIDE :