How to Use a Hanau Articulator

A Hanau articulator is used by dentists, orthodontists, teachers and dental technicians to create accurate casts of a patient's teeth and key jaw measurements. These casts are then used to design and create custom-made crowns, bridges and splint fabrications. They're also used for presentations and as an aid for orthognathic surgery, a type of surgery to correct teeth and jaw disorders. You can easily adjust the Hanau articulator to mimic the anatomical function and movement of a patient's teeth and jaw without the need of plaster casts or expensive equipment.

Instructions

• 1

  Cover the bitefork with wax. Attach it to the bitefork stem of the spring-bow application. The spring-bow application is designed to take measurements of the patient's teeth and jaw.

• 2

  Send the indented bitefork to the lab to make a cast. Transfer the measurements you recorded with the spring-bow to the Hanau articulator.

• 3

  Adjust the condylar guidance member. The condylar guidance member is designed to simulate the upper section of the jaw and the condyle section is designed to mimic the lower jaw section. Use the measurements you collected in step 1. You can adjust the condylar guidance mechanism by sliding and inclining the condylar track as necessary. To adjust, loosen the thumbscrews, slide or incline the track as required and tighten the thumbscrews again.

• 4

  Attach the casts you made in step 1 to the upper and lower cast frames. Mix 2 milliliters of liquid to 6 grams of pantacrylic into a paste and spread over the dentures of the lower cast. Close down the articulator so both casts join, simulating the movement of a bite, and hold for about 5 minutes until the acrylic mix has set.

• 5

  Record all the adjustments and measurements you made for future reference. Also record the serial number of the Hanau articulator.