Different jaw positions and condylar positions in oral therapy

Abstract

In the stomatognathic system, a stable jaw position is influenced by occlusion, the temporomandibular joint and neuromuscular stability. The condylar position in the glenoid fossa is closely related to the jaw position, while no consensus has been reached on the optimum jaw position and its corresponding condylar position in oral therapy. This paper summarizes the controversial opinions regarding the selection of jaw position and the corresponding condylar position in prosthetics and orthodontics, including antero-superior, antero-inferior, and therapeutic positions. Their indications, theoretical bases and clinical applications are also included. The literature review results suggest that, the antero-superior position, in other words, centric relation, should be chosen when the patient has a stable jaw position without TMD. In cases where finding an ideal antero-superior position is difficult due to hyperplasia or deformation or disarrangement of the articular disc, the antero-inferior position is recommended to alleviate symptoms and facilitate reconstruction of the TMJ to obtain good stability. Moreover, for high-angle patients with Class Ⅱ malocclusion or for patients with mild skeletal malocclusion, camouflaged orthodontic treatment combined with antero-inferior jaw repositioning through the potential of condyle remodeling can be an alternative to orthognathic surgery and can simplify the treatment plan. While the therapeutic position is specifically proposed for coping with complicated situations related to cranio-mandibular dysfunction, such as maximal intercuspal position abnormalities or deflection, muscle and TMJ dysfunction, unstable jaw position, in which changes in the original occlusion or abnormal TMJ guidance are induced, and a new intercuspal position can be established and stabilized on the basis of occlusal support and modified guidance. The therapeutic position put aside the debate regarding condylar position, however, the specific position of the condyle has not been reported in this case. This review suggests that different jaw positions and condylar positions have different scopes of application, and their clinical selection should be based on based on whether the patient′s joints have organic changes and the stability of the jaw positions should be comprehensively considered. However, the long-term effects of oral therapy based on different jaw positions need to be further verified by controlled clinical trials in the future.

Keywords

• stomatognathic system
• temporomandibular joint
• glenoid fossa
• jaw position
• antero-superior
• antero-inferior
• therapeutic position