Jan Pietruski

Over the years, a lot of dogma has grown up around the issues of occlusion, temporomandibular joint disease their interdependence and the impact of dental activities on them. As is the case with dogmas, they are not always consistent with knowledge based on scientific facts, but their effect is the atmosphere of mystery and complexity that has been created around these issues. In fact, occlusion in its broadest sense is not at all difficult to understand, it is only necessary to organize the available knowledge and systematize it. Simplifying – it is enough to understand the physiology of the masticatory organ and proceed with it in mind. Regardless of the complexity of the planned dental treatment, this is a prerequisite for the stability of its results. The foundation of predictability in diagnosis and therapy is to find a stable and reproducible orthopedic position of the mandibular heads in the temporomandibular joints. Overlooking this aspect risks complications. The more extensive the treatment, the more serious they can be. This applies to any specialty – as much to the doctor performing a single filling, the orthodontist, or the prosthodontist reconstructing dental arches with implants. Appreciating the importance of basing subsequent procedures on the orthopedic stability of the temporomandibular joints raises further questions – how to find it, assess it and maintain it? Is it always possible? What can stand in the way of obtaining it? Do the digital instruments available today really facilitate clinical work? The lecture is an attempt to answer these and similar questions.