Christensen phenomenon

During propulsive movement of the mandible (movement during biting), the lower jaw moves ventrally and caudally. When we reach the "edge to edge" position of the teeth, the cusps of the upper and lower teeth in the lateral sections of the dentition move away from each other and a wedge-shaped gap appears (widest distally, narrows mesially).


 * With lateropulsion, this phenomenon appears only on one side.
 * In the area of ​​the second molars, the height of the gap corresponds to half of the descent of the articular heads of the temporomandibular joint, but only if there is no bite of the incisors and if we do not consider Spee's line.
 * When articulating total tooth replacement, it is necessary to ensure that at least one pair of antagonists on each side remains in contact during the edge-to-edge bite. If only the incisors were in contact, as is the case with a toothed jaw, the replacement would be prying. In the artificial dentition, the Christensen phenomenon is compensated by flattening the curve of Spee's line and replacing the anteroposterior curvature of the occlusal plane.