What is Adapted Centric Posture?

When we consider the temporomandibular joint, ideally, what we would like to have if we are talking about centric relation is a joint which is unaltered, which means that the condyle disc assembly is in its proper position, fully seated into the glenoid fossa.

Now, we all know that many times patients are suffering from occlusal disease. And one of the things that suffers during this process of the disease is the joint itself. And if we start to encounter patients where the disc is out of position and it is not going back into proper position, or reducing, we simply can not call that centric relation any longer because centric relation is the condyle disc assembly being in its proper position on the head of the condyle.

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So when we encounter patients that have lateral pole issues or have medial pole issues, even though we may encounter situations where the joint has stabilized to the point to where we can do restorative dentistry, we can not call that centric relation anymore. And for those patients, we are going to refer to their joints and the condition of their joints as an adapted-centric posture.