抄録
There are two types of adjustable articulators, the Arcon and Condylar. The guiding systems are located on the upper member of the Arcon type articulator and on the lower of the Condylar type articulator. The movement of the articulators are different when the articulator settings on the adjustable mechanisms of both articulators are the same in the reproduction of lateral movements. In addition, when the movements of both articulators are the same, the articulator settings are different.
In the present study, we have focused on the effects of the guiding systems on the movement of the articulators. In order to evaluate the difference between type I and type VIII articulators (type I: which has the Arcon type guiding system on the upper member, type VIII: which has the Condylar type guiding system on the lower member), we calculated the lateral movements of both articulators by using a mathematical formulae.
The results are as follows:
When we apply the same articulator settings of the average lateral movement to both articulators, the largest difference takes place on the horizontal projective angle of the non-working side condylar guidance at 2.8°, whereas the smallest difference is observable on the sagittal projective angle of the non-working side condylar guidance at 0.6°. The three-dimensional discrepancies between both articulators are almost the same on the condylar and tooth pathways at about 0.15mm. This difference is explained by the three-dimensional rotation occurring during the lateral movement. Therefore, the difference between both articulators is affected by the articulator settings of the adjustable mechanisms.
