Elements of occlusion

Descrizione

ELEMENTS OF OCCLUSION is a title which seems to mean a work of austere Euclidean thoroughness. Actually it aims at being nothing but a user-friendly atlas, a compendium of pictures and information set up to give the topic of temporomandibular occlusion a structural framework. The subject of occlusion, which is preliminary and fundamental, is either often considered superficially or, even when regarded for short-term academic purposes, generally put aside as a set of concepts of little or no use to the real praxis of dentistry. In this book an attempt has been made to describe the anatomy, physiology and dynamics of the scenario within which any operation of restorative dentistry takes place. Bibliographical references have been intentionally omitted as, in literature, every truth could easily match its opposite. The editorial and iconographic format has been conceived in such a manner as to favor visual memory be the reader either a student or a practitioner. Moreover, this work aims at being a challenge to the proverbial saying “Occlusion is Confusion,” a concept often used to justify the superficiality and disinterest in what is the heart of the branches of dentistry. ELEMENTS OF OCCLUSION will merit its definition as an atlas if, by describing the mechanics of the stomatognatic apparatus and its relative functions, it manages to provide the reader with an updating support as an operational map of reference. Furthermore, this work conceals the secret and rather ambitious hope of promoting a different kind of saying: “Occlusion is Function”. I dedicate this work to my daughters Camilla and Lucia, my primary sources of faith and optimism.