Evaluation of the use of a face-bow in complete denture occlusion.

A study was conducted that compared three arbitrarily located axes to the true hinge axis location on ten subjects. Of the 60 different arbitrary axis locations registered, 55% were within 6 mm of the true hinge axis. The results of this study revealed very small differences between a hinge axis face-bow. Hanau 132-SM face-bow, and the Whip-Mix ear face-bow. A linear deviation range of 0.116 to 0.268 mm is of doubtful clinical significance to complete denture construction. If an articulator like the New Simplex is used without a face-bow and with a 3 mm interocclusal wax record, it can be anticipated that there will be a 1 mm deviation in the anterior direction in centric occlusion. This discrepancy, incorporated with errors due to processing, can be eliminated by remounting the finished complete dentures with a new centric relation record for occlusal correction.