Registration of mandibular movement for dental diagnosis, planning and treatment

During the last decade, due to the digitalization of many procedures in the dental workflow, dentistry has undergone many changes. To begin with, virtual articulators substituted traditional mechanical articulators. Thanks to virtual articulators, exploring more options (manufacture in clinic, laboratory in different materials, among others) for each case became possible. Now, this study proposes a step forward in the registration of the patients’ mandibular movements, which allows taking into account the kinematics of each patient’s mandible in the design of prostheses. Surgeons and dentists require a comprehensive simulation system of the mandibular movements as a support for their design work. Taking into consideration the market needs, this article describes the work carried out to develop a method to capture mandibular movement. Using a Leap Motion device and rapid prototyped pieces, the developed system is simple and economically affordable. To design a dental prosthesis taking into account the movements of the antagonist, the most significant information regarding these mandibular movements—lateral movements, retrusion, protrusion and chewing—is necessary. In order to minimize interventions at the clinic, this kinematic design is essential because it eliminates occlusal interferences. However, this registration system is only applicable when an intraoral scanner and a virtual face bow are already integrated. Since the maxillary and mandibular casts must simulate the registered movements, the origin and relative position between both casts is essential. This virtual location of models and simulation of these movements enables the dentist, surgeon and lab technician to achieve a more interactive design, thus leading to a more functional design.