Changes in occlusion after the relining of complete dentures

Twenty-one patients with complete dentures had 6 maxillary and 15 mandibular complete dentures relined using an open-mouth procedure. The centric relation was determined in each subject using the central bearing-point method (three times each before and after relining) in a special measuring articulator, calculating the resulting discrepancies in the condylar region after averaging. Relining the maxillary dentures resulted in a three-dimensional displacement of the condyles of on average 2.5 mm on both sides (median: 2.5 mm on the right side and 2.4 mm on the left side). Relining the mandibular dentures resulted in a three-dimensional displacement of the condyles of on average 2.0 mm on both sides (median 1.6 mm). The reproducibility of the central bearing point registration was 0.5 mm before relining and 0.3 mm after relining. This clinical-experimental study shows that on relining complete dentures, identifiable, and therefore clinically significant, discrepancies in occlusion may occur. It is therefore particularly important to check the occlusion after re-inserting relined complete dentures, which will then usually require adjustment or secondary remounting. Keywords: Occlusion, relining, open-mouth relining, closed-mouth relining, secondary remounting, complete dentures, central bearing point method, gothic arch tracing