The Use of a Gothic Arch Tracing to Record Centric Relation in the Construction of Complete Dentures

The establishment of a fixed and reproducible reference point (centric relation) is critical when reorganizing the occlusion in a dentate patient or constructing complete dentures in an edentulous patient. There are many techniques for guiding the patient's mandible into centric relation and recording the relationship between the maxilla and mandible in this position. Some patients are resistant to being manipulated into this position and have an unreproducible habitual path of closure. A gothic arch tracing is considered to be the most reliable and predictable method of determining centric relation. The present article describes the gothic arch tracing technique and illustrates its use in an edentulous patient during the construction of complete dentures. CPD/Clinical Relevance: The gothic arch technique can be used to predictably locate centric relation in both dentate and edentulous patients.