Articulators in Dentistry

Articulating anything is like carving statue. On building a statue, a sculptor does not keep adding clay to his subject; actually he keeps chiseling at the un-essentials until the truth is revealed without obstruction. That is the articulator, though an important mechanical entity in itself is meaningless, unless that occlusion functions in the mouth in harmony with the biologic factors that regulate the mandibular activity of the patient. Primary function of articulator is to act as the patient in the absence of the patient. An articulator is used to simulate the patient’s temporomandibular joint, muscles of mastication, mandibular ligaments, mandible and maxilla and the complex neuromuscular mechanism that programs mandibular movements. Articulators can simulate, but cannot duplicate all possible mandibular movements. Even the most sophisticated articulator can be adjusted only to simulate the border, or excursive movements of the mandible.