Dawson Quick Tip: Making the Lucia Jig More Predictable

I’d like to spend a moment with you discussing ways that we can make using a Lucia Jig more predictable.  Additionally, about creating our CR index on the Lucia Jig and how we can make that more predictable as well because that’s one of the absolute keys to taking an accurate centric relation bite registration.

The Lucia Jigs are such a wonderful tool to help us to get the muscles deprogrammed and get the lateral pterygoid muscle to relax. Once we can create a lower index, a lower incisal index on that Lucia Jig, all we have to do then is put the wax in and create a centric relation bite registration.

One of the keys that I think sometimes gets overlooked when we’re creating that index on the Lucia Jig is to understand when we’re creating that index, we have to make sure that we’re using bimanual manipulation and seeding both those condyles into centric relation under firm pressure. And while we maintain that firm pressure, have the patient slowly close onto the greenstick compound where we make that index with that lower incisal edge onto that Lucia Jig.

If we only let the patient bite onto the Lucia Jig, and we aren’t using bimanual manipulation, a lot of times what we end up capturing is actually a slightly protrusive bite registration.

So always make sure that when you’re creating your index to use bimanual manipulation to be sure you’re seeding those joints when you make your index, and you’ll make your centric relation bite records much more predictable and a lot more fun. Hope that helps.