Oğuzhan KAYA, Eyyüp ALTINTAŞ
Journal of Dental Sciences and Education - 2026;4(3):119-123
Articulators are mechanical or digital devices that simulate mandibular movements and reproduce maxillomandibular relationships in prosthodontic procedures. Throughout prosthodontic history, articulators have evolved from simple hinge devices to fully adjustable mechanical and virtual systems. This narrative review summarizes conventional and digital articulator systems, with emphasis on their clinical indications, limitations, and relevance to contemporary prosthodontic workflows. Mechanical articulators remain useful for diagnostic mounting, treatment planning, and laboratory communication; however, they cannot fully reproduce patient-specific neuromuscular control, tissue resilience, tooth mobility, or dynamic occlusion. Digital facebows, mandibular motion analyzers, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems, and virtual articulators may improve data integration and visualization, but their clinical value depends on the quality of input records, software compatibility, cost, and clinician experience. A critical understanding of each system is therefore necessary for selecting an articulator according to treatment complexity, occlusal risk, vertical dimension changes, and the need for individualized mandibular movement simulation.
