HOW DOES SOMEBODY KNOW WHAT THEY WANT WHEN THEY HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET? — STEVE JOBS
In the same way that new realities were uncovered by microscopes and telescopes, occlusal force scans bring dentistry into the age of Digital Occlusion™.
Placing a sensor between teeth and recording a force scan open a new world of evidence-based data which transcend what we think articulating paper marks mean. Since the beginning of the 21st century most industries have been transformed by the digital revolution. Imagine bringing to life every contact in an entire arch with a movie of engagement, MIP, and release recorded in 0.01 second increments.
Until sensors have the ability to mark teeth while recording data, articulating paper will remain the standard of care even though it has numerous limitations: it is inaccurate in a wet environment, it is inconsistent on different materials, it provides unidimensional information, it does not take into account all contacts in an arch, and it can only be interpreted subjectively after articulation has occurred. Yet, despite these limitations, articulating paper has been an invaluable asset since the 19th century.
Sensor technology surpasses analog technique by making articulating paper “smart.” Sensels capture micro variations of contact intensity as a mandible moves in relation to the occlusal plane. They record all contacts in an entire arch which are then played back in real time as 2D and 3D animations.
The software records, sequences, and organizes all sensel activity to measure force contact distribution which could affect the health and longevity of intraoral anatomy, the occlusion, and the whole stomatognathic system.
The perspective on occlusion broadens when hundreds of synchronized pressure points come to life in an animated movie which uses force distribution as the new metric to study horizontal, vertical, and transverse contact points. New technology leads to paradigm shifts which expand our grasp on reality.