A Comparison of Traditional Occlusal Equilibration and Immediate Complete Anterior Guidance Development

ABSTRACTTraditional occlusal equilibration has been advocated by numerous authors as a treatment modality for chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. However, treatment predictability and reliable clinical success has not been reported by all authors. Some report no correlation between occlusal contacts and chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. Recent publications and manuscripts have described a new occlusal adjustment technique which is aimed at reducing lengthy pretreatment disclusion time in mandibular excursions. This reduction in disclusion time physiologically and rapidly reduces contractile muscle activity in the masseter and temporalis muscles, which leads to the resolution of numerous chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS) symptoms. This new occlusal adjustment process is known as Immediate Complete Anterior Guidance Development (ICAGD). The purpose of this article is to describe the important differences in focus, sequence, and theory between traditional occlusal equilibration and ICAGD. Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert B. KersteinDr. Robert B. Kerstein received his D.M.D. degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1983, and completed the postgraduate program in Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics at the same university also in 1985. Dr. Kerstein currently maintains a private practice limited to prosthodontics in Boston, Massachusetts, and is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Kerstein, in addition to being a published author and an active lecturer, is currently involved in research surrounding Immediate Complete Anterior Guidance Development treatment.