Keywords
Oral rehabilitation
Digital dentistry
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Abstract
Objective: To analyze the biomechanical principles of anterior guidance and its customization in oral rehabilitation using analog and digital workflows, highlighting clinical applications, limitations, and gaps in the scientific literature. Literature review: Anterior guidance is fundamental to functional occlusion, promoting posterior disocclusion, protection of the stomatognathic system, and restorative longevity. Its absence may cause restoration fractures, tooth wear, and occlusal instability. Anterior guidance should be customized according to the patient's occlusion through analog and digital workflows. The analog method, based on semiadjustable articulators and customized incisal guide tables, established the biomechanical foundations of oral rehabilitation but presented limitations related to material dimensional instability, subjectivity of occlusal analysis, and lower transfer accuracy. The digital workflow, based on CAD/CAM systems, intraoral scanners, virtual articulators, and mandibular tracking, improved precision, functional individualization, and restorative predictability. Nevertheless, there is no robust evidence regarding the superiority of the digital method over the conventional approach in longitudinal clinical validation and accuracy for full-arch applications. Final considerations: Digital dentistry represents an important advancement in the reconstruction of anterior guidance; however, its effectiveness depends on the application of classical biomechanical principles. The integration of traditional scientific knowledge and technological innovation constitutes the most predictable approach for achieving functional and stable oral rehabilitation.
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