Effect of Body Position on the Pattern of Occlusal Contacts during Lateral Excursions in Undergraduate Students at Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar

Background: Occlusal contacts have a critical role in maintaining the stability and functionality of the masticatory system. Despite the recognized importance of occlusal contacts in Maximum intercuspation and lateral excursion, there is limited understanding of variations in body position affecting these occlusal contacts and the most common pattern of occlusal contact during lateral excursion. Objective: To determine the frequency of different patterns of occlusal contacts and to evaluate the effect of body position on them during lateral excursions in undergraduate students at Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar from November 2021 to January 2022. Participants fulfilling the inclusion criteria were positioned in upright, 45 degree and supine position of dental chair and instructions were given to perform lateral excursive movement from maximum intercuspation to the end-to-end position of canines. Occlusal contact during lateral movement of mandible was checked using shim stock held by Miller forceps. Results: As per pattern of occlusal contacts, 56 (54.36%) participants had canine guidance, 3 (2.91%) participants had anterior guidance through incisors while 44 (42.71%) participants had group function. Alterations in body position led to variability in occlusal contacts, with the supine position showing the greatest number of shifts between canine guidance and group function. However, these changes were not statistically significant (p =0.15 on the left, p =0.16 on the right). Conclusion: It has been concluded that most of the contact pattern were canine guidance, followed by group function and anterior guidance ..........