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Is the dentist supposed to use that film paper on both sides of mouth or only the side where work was done?
When checking for an uneven bite....
- Thread starter worfndata
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I am not a dentist, but normally after filling a when the dentist I shadow checks occlusion he only puts the articulating paper on the side where the work is done. I have seen him check both sides with a crown, normally he uses a shimstock just to make sure the bite is closed but he has used articulating paper to do the same and kinda tugged it to see if the bite was closed.
Check both sides. Check the side where work was done to see if there is a high spot on your restoration. Check the other side (shimstock or articulating paper) to make sure the teeth are occluding still. It's a safety check.
Ideally, you would have wanted to check the bite before you started the restoration. B/c not everyone has ideal occlusion. But I feel that few dentists do this.
In my opinion, it is also important to sit the patient up when you check bite... as when you lay the patient back (as is when you are operating), the condyles move in the fossa, and it's not the same bite as when the patient is upright...
Ideally, you would have wanted to check the bite before you started the restoration. B/c not everyone has ideal occlusion. But I feel that few dentists do this.
In my opinion, it is also important to sit the patient up when you check bite... as when you lay the patient back (as is when you are operating), the condyles move in the fossa, and it's not the same bite as when the patient is upright...
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Personally, if I've only anesthetized the side that i'm working on, I'll use the articulating paper on that side only about 98% of the time, and then just simply ask the patient if on the opposite side where they're not numb if their bite "feels normal" - If I see that where I worked and the patient is numb that the occlussal contacts appear to be "normal" AND the patient says that their bite on the opposite side feels "normal" then I'm happy with that 98% of the time. The other 2% would be if the patient has some "interesting" occlussion (i.e. very few opposing contacts, crossbite situations, HEAVY bruxism, etc) where I'll then check the occlussion with articulating paper on both sides prior to dismissing my patient.
Most of the time your patient's will have to think about if their bite feels "normal" even where they're not anesthetized, vs. they'll tell you in about a millisecond if they're bite feels "off"
Most of the time your patient's will have to think about if their bite feels "normal" even where they're not anesthetized, vs. they'll tell you in about a millisecond if they're bite feels "off"
