Influence of Fixed Prosthodontic Treatment on Occlusal Contacts in Centric Occlusion: A Preliminary Study

Aim: Adequate occlusal contacts are believed to be necessary for dentition function. This study aims to evaluate the impact of prosthodontic treatment on intercuspal occlusal contacts in relation to contact number and contact area.

Methodology: The pre-treatment and post-treatment models of 13 patients who underwent fixed prosthodontic treatment on several teeth were retrieved. All the models were scanned by a Micro-CT scanner and 3D virtual images were established. To evaluate the occlusion, the models were virtually articulated. Two occlusion variables were evaluated: (1) contact number and (2) contact area. In addition, the impact of the inter-arch location (maxillary vs. mandibular arches) and intra-arch location (anterior vs. posterior teeth) was assessed.

Results: The prosthodontic treatment had significantly increased the contact number and contact area. The effect of the inter-arch location was insignificant. However, the intra-arch location had significantly affected the contact number and area, where the posterior teeth had a significantly greater contact number and area. The posterior teeth were more influenced by the prosthodontic treatment than the anterior teeth, while the anterior teeth were minimally influenced.

Conclusion: The prosthodontic treatment improved the quality of occlusal contacts by increasing the contact number and area. The effect of the prosthodontic treatment was more prominent in the posterior region, while, anteriorly, the occlusal variables were minimally affected.