Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure sagittal condylar inclination (SCI) in male and female participants and to assess differences between the two groups. This measurement has a clinical value in setting the articulator SCI before fabrication of indirect restorations.
Materials and methods: The study included 32 dental students, 16 men and 16 women (aged 18 to 40 years). The participants had no signs of muscular or articular pain. SCI was recorded for participants using a CADIAX® compact 2 electronic axiograph.
Results: The mean SCI in both men and women varied between 26.1° and 61.8°, with a mean of 41.9° (SD 7.8). The mean right SCI was 42.0° (SD 8.5), and the mean left SCI was 41.9° (SD 9.2). The mean SCI for men was 40.3° (SD 7.9), and the mean for women was 43.6° (SD 7.7). No statistically significant difference in SCI values was found between the right and left side (p = 0.995), or between the male and female groups (p = 0.133). Also, no correlation could be found between SCI and the age of the participants (r(2) = 0.016, p = 0.489).
Conclusions: The mean value of SCI was within the range reported in previous studies. SCI is highly variable, but this variability does not seem to be attributed to condylar asymmetry, gender, or age of the adult participants. This high variability suggests that independent condylar measurements should be conducted for each patient instead of relying on reported average values.
Keywords: Gender; electronic axiography; protrusion; sagittal condylar inclination; variations.
© 2013 by the American College of Prosthodontists.