An intraoral method of verifying interocclusal distance for completely edentulous patients.

This article describes a method of verifying the interocclusal distance of edentulous patients by using acrylic resin wafers of different thicknesses. The wafers are attached to the occlusal surface of the maxillary wax occlusal rim in the first premolar region to facilitate intraoral verification of the proposed interocclusal distance. This method is straightforward and reduces the registration of an incorrect interocclusal distance

Short communication: Influence of retainer configuration and loading direction on the stress distribution of lithium disilicate resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses: 3D finite element analysis

The present study elucidates the mechanical performance of different designs of resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses made of lithium disilicate simulating masticatory loads of anterior or canine guidance. A three-dimensional model of maxilla was constructed containing central incisor and canine teeth, with edentulous space of the lateral incisor. Three designs of prosthesis were created: retained in central incisor (1-I), retained in canine (1-C) and fixed in both teeth (2-IC). The computational analysis was performed for load in canine and central incisor separately (100N, 45°). The tensile and shear stresses were calculated for the resin-bonded fixed dental prosthesis, bonding surface of each retainer and cement layer using 3D finite element analysis. The 20 highest stress values were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test, all with α = 5%. The computational analysis showed that 2-retainer resin-bonded fixed dental prosthesis presented the worst prognosis regardless of the mandibular movement. ANOVA showed that Mandibular movement*Retainer interaction influenced on the tensile and shear stresses values (p < 0.01). Higher stresses were observed in the connector region for all groups (13-82.2 MPa; 11-70.2 MPa). In order to reduce the stress concentration in the resin-bonded fixed dental prosthesis and the retainer made of lithium disilicate, the occlusion may serve as the selection criteria of the unitary abutment for better sustainability