USE OF A PARALLELOMETER IN

STOMATOLOGICAL PRACTICE

S. D. S h v a r t s UDC 615.471:616.314-089.28-071.3-71

Modern orthopedic stomatology has at its disposal g r e a t capabilities f o r replacing complex defects of
the maxillodental s y s t e m by means of removable and p e r m a n e n t a l l - c a s t dental p r o s t h e s e s .
The exact alignment of these p r o s t h e s e s to the teeth and jaws depends in m a n y r e s p e c t s on the p r e s e n c e
of a special i n s t r u m e n t for a c c u r a t e m a r k i n g out of the p r o s t h e s i s and its alignment, which e n s u r e s reliable
functioning of the dentures in the p a t i e n t ' s mouth. Such an i n s t r u m e n t (parallelometer) has been developed
at the Central Scientific R e s e a r c h Institute of Stomatology and its production has a l r e a d y begun. This p a r a l -
l e l o m e t e r differs f r o m known ones, including foreign i n s t r u m e n t s (USA, England, France), by the s i m p l i c i t y
of its design and makes a n u m b e r of operations easy to p e r f o r m . For instance, it can be used to obtain an
a c c u r a t e anatomic model of the shape of the crown, which e n s u r e s good functioning of the p r o s t h e s i s .
When planning the design of a p r o s t h e s i s and during its d i r e c t m a n u f a c t u r e by means of the p a r a l l e l o -
m e t e r (Fig. 1) the axis (direction} of insertion of the p r o s t h e s i s into the p r o s t h e t i c bed is determined. In
addition, the i n s t r u m e n t p e r m i t s d e t e r m i n i n g the difference between the supporting and retention zone of the
teeth, which makes possible the c o r r e c t placement of the rigid and elastic elements of the clamp s y s t e m s of
the a l l - c a s t dentures and the attachments in removable and bridge p r o s t h e s e s .
Sometimes the i n s t r u m e n t is called a s u r f a c e gauge, since it can be used to determine the m a x i m u m
p e r i m e t e r of the teeth and the r e l a t i v e p a r a l l e l relationship of two o r s e v e r a l s u r f a c e s of teeth and other
p a r t s of p l a s t e r models used in making p r o s t h e s e s .
So-called pinlays, i.e., inlays fixed on pins, a r e used in the orthopedic s t o m a t e l o g y clinic. Their p o s i -
tioning in the solid tissues of the teeth can also be d e t e r m i n e d by the p a r a l l e l o m e t e r .
It should be noted that the a r e a of use of the i n s t r u m e n t is not limited by the usual designs of p r o s -
theses. The p a r a l l e l o m e t e r can be used in manufacturing equatorial crowns.
By m e a n s of the p a r a l l e l o m e t e r the guide lines (perimeter) a r e t r a c e d on the support teeth of the
model and the wax is t r i m m e d off below the guide line on the p r o x i m a l s u r f a c e s of the support teeth to c r e -
ate parallel s u r f a c e s .
The i n s t r u m e n t can also be used in the m a n u f a c -
ture of removable plastic p r o t h e s e s in the p r e s e n c e of
converging and diverging teeth. In such c a s e s the s e c -
tions d e t e r m i n e d by the p a r a l l e l o m e t e r below the con-
tact point of the indicating rod and tooth on the jaw m o d -
el a r e isolated by p l a s t e r o r with wax when duplicating
the model.
In the m a n u f a c t u r e of full dentures for the tooth-
less jaw and in the p r e s e n c e of pronounced t u b e r o s i t i e s
on both sides, one of them is isolated by m e a n s of the
p a r a l l e l o m e t e r . For this p u r p o s e the region of m a x i m u m
Fig. 1. P a r a l l e l o m e t e r . convexity of one of the t u b e r o s i t i e s is d e t e r m i n e d and it

Central S c i e n t i f i c - R e s e a r c h Institute of Stomatology, Moscow. T r a n s l a t e d f r o m Meditsinskaya Tekh-

nika, No. 1, pp. 49-50, J a n u a r y - F e b r u a r y , 1973. Original a r t i c l e submitted March 14, 1972.

© 1973 Consultants Bureau, a division o[ Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York,
N. Y. 10011. All rights reserved. This article cannot be reproduced [or any purpose whatsoever without
permission of the publisher. A copy o[ this article is available [rom the publisher [or $15.00.

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s e r v e s as a r e f e r e n c e point for blocking the c l a m p zone by m e a n s of p l a s t e r or cement, a f t e r which the
p r o s t h e s i s is p o l y m e r i z e d .
The p a r a l l e l o m e t e r weighs 4 kg and c o n s i s t s of a base, v e r t i c a l stand with a t e l e s c o p i c inside rod,
h o r i z o n t a l b r a c k e t , tong c l a m p for the appliances of the p a r a l l e I o m e t e r , flywheel, and m o v a b l e stand f o r
p l a s t e r m o d e l s on which the design of the a l l - c a s t p r o s t h e s i s is planned. In addition, it has a s e t of tools
in a p a c k i n g box. It consists of five interchangeable appliances (three m e a s u r i n g r o d s for d e t e r m i n i n g the
location of the r e t a i n i n g a r m of the clasp, a graphite m a r k e r for t r a c i n g the guide line, and an indicating
r o d for taking m e a s u r e m e n t s ) , a knife for t r i m m i n g the wax, and a b r a c k e t for fastening the s t r a i g h t tip of
a dental drill. In addition, t h r e e additional devices a r e supplied: a disk s u p p o r t with t h r e e conical p r o -
jections for mounting the p l a s t e r model, which is used when m a n u f a c t u r i n g s u p p o r t crowns for the p u r p o s e
of modeling t h e m in c o n f o r m i t y w i t h t h e w a y of i n s e r t i n g the p r o s t h e s i s ; an i n t e r m e d i a t e s l e e v e with a pin,
which is u s e d for r e c o r d i n g the degree of slope of the p l a s t e r model r e l a t i v e to the indicating r o d of the
i n s t r u m e n t ; and an elastic c a s e f o r filling with p l a s t e r , which is used for casting the p l a s t e r b a s e for the
jaw model, i.e., for fastening it on the p l a s t e r b a s e in c o n f o r m i t y with the axis of i n s e r t i o n of the p r o s t h e s i s .
The p a r a l l e l o m e t e r is a r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e i n s t r u m e n t and is n e c e s s a r y in the w o r k of the o r t h o p e d i s t
and dental technician. The i n s t r u m e n t was u s e d in the Central S c i e n t i f i c - R e s e a r c h Institute of Stomatology
f o r m a n u f a c t u r i n g m o r e than 1000 a l l - c a s t dental p r o s t h e s e s . Thanks to the a c c u r a c y of d e t e r m i n i n g the
p a r a m e t e r s on p l a s t e r models, the c a s t s have good fixing and s p r i n g y p r o p e r t i e s . Patients have been using
the r a t i o n a l designs of a l l - c a s t p r o s t h e s e s f o r 8-10 y e a r s , depending on the condition of the maxillodental
system.

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