OCCLUSION IN RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY

Occlusion is the fundamental concern of restorative and prosthetic dentistry. Occlusal discrepancies are one of the deleterious functional problems perceived after the treatment of the prosthesis or restorations.At every level of general practice, a dentist routinely faces problems of sore teeth, excessive wear, loose teeth, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, and orofacial pain. Patients want correct answers. They want to know if they need orthodontic treatment, or an occlusal splint, or why a joint clicks, or why anterior veneers chip or crack. A dentist who does not have a working knowledge of occlusal principles must resort to guesswork and time-wasting trial-and error attempts to solve problems that could be confidently solved by understanding cause-and-effect responses to occlusal disharmony. When principles of occlusal harmony are understood, the entire approach to examination, treatment, and problem solving takes on a new perspective. This book aims to equip the reader with the knowledge of principles of occlusal harmony, and develop skills required to recognize and treat typical problems associated with occlusal disharmony.