Considerations in measurement of marginal fit.

The terminology describing "fit" and the techniques used for measuring fit vary considerably in the literature. Although fit can be most easily defined in terms of "misfit," there are many different locations between a tooth and a restoration where the measurements can be made. In this work, the measurements of misfit at different locations are geometrically related to each other and defined as internal gap, marginal gap, vertical marginal discrepancy, horizontal marginal discrepancy, overextended margin, underextended margin, absolute marginal discrepancy, and seating discrepancy. The significance and difference in magnitude of different locations are presented. The best alternative is perhaps the absolute marginal discrepancy, which would always be the largest measurement of error at the margin and would reflect the total misfit at that point.