An appraisal of the literature on centric relation. Part I.

The literature directly and indirectly related to centric relation (CR) has been reviewed chronologically. More than 300 papers and quoted sections of books have been divided into three sections. The first two parts are related to CR. Studies in this group mainly compared either the position of the mandibular condyle or the mandible itself in different CR recordings. Various tools were discussed for this purpose. The third part of the paper is about CR-centric occlusion (CO) discrepancy. CR still remains one of the controversial issues in prosthodontics and orthodontics. Debates such as mounting casts on the articulator by reproducible records for orthodontic treatment planning and end results, and whether or not orthodontic treatment based on CO causes temporomandibular joint dysfunction, remain unsolved. The references are listed at the end of Part III.