Face-bow record without a third point of reference: Theoretical considerations and an alternative technique

Accurate mounting of dental casts is achieved by transferring the tridimens ional spatial relationship of the maxillary arch to an articulator. A face- bow is used to transfer this relationship to the articulator, usually by re lating the face-bow to a plane of reference. The most common reference plan e is the Frankfort plane, which has been assumed to be horizontal when the patient is in the natural head position. The axis-orbitale plane has also b een considered horizontal and used as reference. However, it has been shown that both planes are not horizontal, and mounting a maxillary cast accordi ng to these planes can result in an inaccurate mounting. This article descr ibes an alternative procedure for face-bow transfer without a plane of refe rence, and uses the angular relationship between the occlusal plane and the condylar path to mount the maxillary cast on the articulator. The eliminat ion of a reference plane, to which relate the functional determinants of oc clusion, avoids an additional source of error during the mounting procedure .