Overview of Occlusion in Prosthodontics

The occlusion has to be given much more importance in our day to day practice. Instead of finding out the reasons for the failure of our procedures, it is better to understand and respect the dentofacial system to avoid such failures. Success of our clinical procedures is not a single entity, but instead survival on a long term basis. The clinical longevity of our work is dependent on so many factors and when we have a closer look, all these ultimately depend on the occlusal stability. The word occlusion itself creates aversion for almost all and very conveniently we try to avoid the occlusion principles thinking that we have to bother about the principles only for TMJ disorder patients. By understanding principles of occlusal harmony, it gives better approach to clinical examination and treatment planning and problem solving for any restorative cases. If we do not embrace the sound occlusal principles we can end up to unnecessary overtreatment. If we do not respect the dentofacial system it may result in restoration, prosthesis or periodontal failures, along with relapse of orthodontic and orthognathic surgeries. So, occlusion is of prime importance while doing any restoration .