Diagnostically restoring a reduced occlusal vertical dimension without permanently altering the existing dentures.

The technique described provides the dentist with a means of diagnostically restoring the vertical dimension of occlusion for an edentulous patient, without permanently altering the dentures. This procedure is accomplished with a removable mandibular splint, which snaps over the mandibular denture. The procedure involves little clinical treatment time. The maxillary denture may also be temporarily overlayed in a similar manner, but the procedure is generally not as esthetically acceptable. Since the mandibular alveolar bone resorbs much faster than that of the maxillae in most edentulous patients, the mandibular denture usually is responsible for most of the loss of occlusal vertical dimension. The mandibular denture is therefore most frequently indicated for alteration to restore lost occlusal vertical dimension. Medicolegal implications, as well as practical considerations, suggest that the patient's present dentures should not be permanently altered before new dentures are found to be satisfactory.