AN ANALYSIS OF HINGE AXIS TRANSLATION AND ROTATION DURING OPENING ANDCLOSING IN DENTULOUS AND EDENTULOUS SUBJECTS

In order to evaluate the influence of interocclusal environment, condy lar movement was investigated by computerized axiography. The sample c onsisted of 50 dentulous and 50 edentulous Caucasians, The mean length of translation at maximum opening in dentulous subjects was 16 mm, wh ile edentulous subjects showed an average of 11 mm, The mean angle of hinge axis rotation at maximum opening was 30 degrees in dentulous sub jects and 17 degrees in edentulous subjects, The mean length of transl ation and the rotation of hinge axis in opening and closing movements was smaller in edentulous subjects than in dentulous ones, In opening and closing movement of edentulous subjects, the length of translation and the rotation value revealed no significant correlation with age o r duration of upper and lower prosthesis. No significant difference wa s shown between edentulous and dentulous subjects on translative quant ity in protrusive movement.