Relationship between Condylar Guidance and Cuspal Morphology: An In Vitro Analysis

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the current relationship between condylar guidance and cuspal angulation in natural dentition. This study included 56 pretreatment samples of subjects (lateral cephalograms and study models). Using 3D technology, the study model was scanned to determine the cuspal angulation. The inclination of a tooth's cuspal slope and the line that passes across its cusp fossa combine to generate the cuspal angulation. An extra-oral scanner (shining 3D auto scanner) scans the study model to measure the cuspal angulation. The study cast's STL image was acquired, and the cuspal angulation was assessed cross-sectionally using a haptic device. The lateral cephalogram was used to measure condylar guidance by calculating the angle between the Frankfort horizontal plane and the line tangential to the posterior slope of the articular eminence. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to perform the statistical analyses. A bivariate correlation test was performed on the measured data, and the scatter plot test was used to assess the correlation. P-values higher than 0.05 were regarded as statistically insignificant. According to bivariate correlation analysis, cuspal angulation and condylar guidance had a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.117 (P = 0.41). The variables that usually change during orthodontic treatment were not statistically significantly associated with each other.