Articulators-Facebows

The temporomandibular joint is a complicated mechanism; not only does it allow pivoting, rotating, opening and closing movements, but also movements of translation and laterotrusion. Furthermore, the structures that make it up are not rigid, precise and unchangeable; rather, the muscles, ligaments and bone have a certain degree of elasticity. Into this milieu, the clinician is asked to introduce a prosthesis that is within the adaptive capacity of the neuromuscular system. In general, the clinician is always looking for ways to simplify the procedure for the fabrication of a prosthesis and to decrease the time necessary to integrate it into the mouth of the patient. Therefore a need existed for the clinician to simulate the movements of TMJ and associated structures, so that an accurate prosthesis could be fabricated. In achieving the simulation of the TMJ and associated structures, the articulator and facebow play an important role.