 Dentistry has never stood still. Over the past few decades, we've seen remarkable advances in materials, from conventional acrylics and cobalt chrome frameworks to zirconia, lithium disilicate and increasingly digital CAD/CAM workflows. One material that continues to gain attention within restorative and prosthetic dentistry is PEEK.
If you've attended a dental exhibition, spoken to a milling centre or browsed through the latest dental literature, you've probably heard the term. But what exactly is PEEK, why is it becoming so popular, and where does it fit within modern dentistry? At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we're always interested in materials that improve patient outcomes, simplify clinical workflows and offer predictable long-term results. Whilst every material has its place, PEEK is certainly one worth understanding.
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 When we talk about complete dentures, the conversation usually goes straight to the big clinical records.
But there is one record that is often missed, and in our experience at Bremadent Dental Laboratory, it can make a huge difference to the final appearance of a denture. The smile line. Also known as the high lip line, and when combined with the low lip line, it gives the dental laboratory a much clearer understanding of how the patient actually displays their teeth when speaking, smiling and resting. It is one of those small clinical records that takes seconds to mark but can save a lot of guesswork later.  If you've worked in dentistry long enough, you've probably noticed a strange pattern.
The weather changes dramatically, the temperature suddenly rises or drops, and within a day or two the phone starts ringing. "The denture is tight." "The tray doesn't seat." "The crown seems slightly out." "We've had to do far more adjustments than usual." At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we process thousands of cases every month, and over the years we've noticed this trend repeatedly. Whenever there is a sudden change in weather, particularly during heatwaves or cold snaps in the UK, there is often a noticeable increase in calls regarding the fit of appliances. It isn't always the laboratory. It isn't always the clinician. Very often, the impression itself is the common denominator. Alginates are fantastic materials. They're quick, affordable, accurate when handled correctly and remain one of the most widely used impression materials in general dental practice. However, they are also incredibly sensitive to how they are mixed, stored, disinfected and transported. Small changes can create surprisingly large dimensional differences. Understanding those variables can save chairside time, reduce remakes and produce far more predictable results.  If there is one thing that can make a denture look natural, feel comfortable, function properly, and avoid the dreaded “something looks wrong but I don’t know what” conversation with the patient, it is getting the horizontal plane and occlusal plane right.
At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we receive hundreds of denture bite registrations every year. Many are excellent. Some are detailed, accurate, beautifully marked, and make our technicians quietly emotional in the best possible way. Others arrive with the vertical dimension recorded, but with no clear horizontal plane, no occlusal plane, no facial markings, and no useful indication of how the teeth should sit in relation to the patient’s face. In those cases, the bite rims have often only been used to establish the OVD, the occlusal vertical dimension. That is important, of course. But a denture bite registration should do much more than tell us how open or closed the patient should be. A properly recorded bite rim should transfer the patient’s aesthetics, function, orientation, phonetics, neutral zone, facial features, smile line, and jaw relationship to the laboratory. In simple terms, it should tell us where the teeth need to go. If the bite rim only tells us the OVD, we are missing half the map. And when you are trying to create a natural looking denture, half a map is not ideal. It is a bit like being told to drive to Manchester but only being given the first roundabout.  If there is one clinical record that can dramatically improve communication between a dental practice and dental laboratory whilst taking less than two minutes to record, it is the stick bite.
Yet despite its simplicity, it remains one of the most underused and misunderstood records in restorative dentistry. At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we receive thousands of denture, implant, crown and bridge, and full arch rehabilitation cases every year. One thing we have noticed consistently is that many clinicians provide excellent impressions, accurate scans, detailed prescriptions, and beautiful photographs, but omit one of the most valuable records available for guiding anterior aesthetics and occlusal plane orientation. The stick bite. Ironically, some of the most expensive and complex cases we receive arrive without one. When this happens, the laboratory must rely on photographs, facial landmarks, experience, and clinical judgement to determine how the final smile should sit within the patient's face. When a stick bite is included, many of those assumptions disappear. The result is often greater predictability, improved communication, reduced chairside adjustments, and more confident smile design. This article explains exactly what a stick bite is, why it matters, how to take one correctly, when it should be used, and why many experienced clinicians consider it an essential record for full arch and aesthetic cases. |
Private Dental Laboratory in London
 Kash Qureshi - Managing Director, Clinical Dental Technician
About the author:
Kash Qureshi is a Clinical Dental Technician (Denturist) in the U.K who oversees and quality controls over 3000+ fixed and removable prosthesis including implant cases from a clinical and technical aspect monthly at Bremadent Dental Laboratory & Swissedent Denture Clinic in London. www.swissedent.co.uk www.bremadent.co.uk [email protected] Categories
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