Reproducibility of lateral excursive tooth contact in a semi-adjustable articulator depending on the type of lateral guidance.

The purposes of this study were (i) to compare the reproducibility of lateral tooth contacts of casts mounted in a semi-adjustable articulator when condylar guidance was set by different methods and (ii) to assess the margin of error of the variations of condylar guidance without changing lateral tooth contacts, depending on the type of lateral guidance. In subjects with different types of lateral guidance, intraoral lateral tooth contacts identified with occlusal registration strips were compared with those identified by use of a semi-adjustable articulator, setting the condylar guidance in four different ways: using protrusive wax wafers, by axiography and by adding and subtracting 5 degrees from the value of condylar guidance obtained by protrusive wax wafers. Tolerance to variations of condylar guidance without changing lateral tooth contacts was determined by increasing and decreasing the value of condylar guidance until lateral tooth contacts changed. Different ways of setting condylar guidance on a semi-adjustable articulator give rise to different values of condylar guidance in the same subject. The occlusal repercussions of these variations of condylar guidance values depend on the type of lateral guidance. Canine protection had the greatest tolerance to variations in the setting of condylar guidance without changing lateral occlusal contacts.