Effect of direct and indirect face-bow transfer on the horizontal condylar guidance values: A pilot study

Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of direct and indirect face-bow transfer on the horizontal condylar guidance (HCG) values obtained on the semi-adjustable articulator. Materials and Methods: A total of 15 subjects of age 20-30 years, of either sex were selected. Two sets of maxillary and mandibular casts were obtained. A single arbitrary face-bow record was used for mounting the maxillary casts by direct and indirect transfer for each subject. The mandibular casts were mounted using maximum intercuspation record. Protrusive records were made in Alu wax and used to program the directly and indirectly transferred casts. HCG values obtained from cephalometric records were taken as control. The data was subjected to ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test. Results: Mean values of HCG obtained in direct face-bow transfer were 24.93°, indirect transfer −27.66°, and cephalometric analysis −32.73°. One-way ANOVA test indicated that there was a significant difference between all the groups (P < 0.05). Tukey′s test with Bonferroni′s correction (P < 0.01) was significant for direct and indirect transfer (P = 0.008), and direct transfer and cephalometric readings (P = 0.0046). A nonsignificant difference was found between indirect transfer and cephalometric readings (P = 0.047). Conclusion : There is a statistically significant difference in HCG values obtained from direct and indirect face-bow transfer records. Lateral cephalograms gave higher mean HCG values than those obtained from protrusive records. Mean HCG values obtained from indirect face-bow transfers are significantly more than those obtained from direct transfers and are also closer to the values obtained from the lateral cephalograms