THE USE OF CENTRIC RELATION IN COMPLEX ORAL REHABILITATIONS. A PERSONALIZED SURVEY-BASED STUDY

Contemporary dentistry focuses on maintaining optimal oral health by gaining a functional and aesthetic equilibrium. Centric relation (CR) serves as an essential reference position for the accomplishment of complex dental restorations, ensuring harmonious integration within the dental arch in both static and dynamic occlusion. This study aimed at assessing centric relation and maximum intercuspation in specific clinical cases and at identifying the factors influencing dentists’ decisions to refrain from using CR position. Methods: A twenty-six-item customized survey was distributed to one hundred and ten Romanian dentists, aged over twenty and having a wide range of professional backgrounds and experience levels. The questionnaire was structured into the following sections: socio-demographic data, commonly performed types of oral rehabilitations, procedural complexity, and participants’ preferences regarding the reference position for prosthetic rehabilitations. Results: When performing complex restorations, CR was used as the reference position (71.8%) by most of the participants. 60% of them considered maximum intercuspation (MI) easier to record and reproduce compared to CR position. The primary reasons participants avoided using the CR were the lack of experience in performing the manipulation techniques (10.46%), in recording this reference position (9.88%), and insufficient practice with the articulators or face bows (10.46%). The distribution of occlusal contacts in CR was mainly assessed using articulating paper (47%), or digital devices such as an intraoral scanner (23%). To record CR, hard wax (38%) or addition silicone (33%) were the materials of choice. Conclusions: Most dentists engage in complex prosthetic rehabilitations, and commonly use centric relation to achieve predictable outcomes, avoiding the risk of failures associated with oral rehabilitations.