When fabricating dentures, implant-supported restorations, or full-mouth rehabilitations, the accuracy of your bite registration determines the success of the final restoration.
Bite blocks bridge the gap between impression-taking and denture delivery, providing the laboratory with essential information about jaw relationships, vertical dimension, and aesthetic preferences that primary impressions alone cannot capture.
At Watersedge Dental Laboratory, we recognize that bite blocks are more than an interim step. They are the foundation for predictable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing restorations.
Table of Contents
- Understanding Bite Blocks and Bite Registration
- When Are Bite Blocks Used?
- Bite Block Fabrication
- How to Take an Accurate Bite Registration
- Common Bite Registration Mistakes
- Complex Bite Registration Cases
- Working with Watersedge Dental Laboratory
Understanding Bite Blocks and Bite Registration
What Is a Bite Block?
A bite block is a device used to record the relationship between the upper and lower jaw in edentulous or partially edentulous patients. It consists of two components:
- A hard acrylic base plate (representing the future inner surface of the denture)
- Pink wax placed on top of the base plate
The base plate is designed to fit precisely against the tissue and demonstrate the same stability and retention expected in the final denture. If the base plate shifts, rocks, or loses retention during functional movements, the bite registration will be compromised.
The wax rim is adjusted by the clinician based on the patient’s anatomy and preferences, as it represents the future size and position of the teeth.
What Is Bite Registration?
Dental bite registration is the process of capturing jaw alignment and occlusal relationships using the bite block. In other words, the bite block is a tool, and bite registration records the spatial relationship of the arches.
To determine a jaw’s position—particularly in fully edentulous patients—the clinician must establish relationships using anatomical landmarks, measurement tools, and clinical judgment.
When obtained properly, a bite registration provides the laboratory with a three-dimensional record of where teeth should be positioned for optimal function, comfort, and aesthetics.
When Are Bite Blocks Used?
Bite blocks serve as essential tools across many areas of restorative dentistry, including removable and fixed prostheses such as:
- Full and partial dentures
- Digital dentures
- Implant-supported restorations
- Full-mouth rehabilitation
- Orthodontic applications
- Dental guided surgery
Bite Block Fabrication
A precise, well-detailed final impression taken in the dental practice is the starting point for bite block fabrication and the key to predictable outcomes.
Upon receiving an accurate impression, Watersedge pours a hard stone or die stone model and fabricates a hard acrylic base plate adapted to ridge and tissue contours. The fit of this base plate directly influences the retention and stability of the future dentures or other prostheses. We then add pink wax built to average vertical dimensions, ready for clinical adjustment.
Digital Workflows
For practices using digital impression systems, digital bite registration models can be printed directly from intraoral scan data. This maintains precision and can reduce turnaround time.
Does your patient have existing dentures? Watersedge Dental Laboratory can duplicate existing dentures through digital dentistry. If a patient has dentures that require replacement due to age or wear, we can scan the prosthesis and use it as a template. In some cases, this allows the bite block phase to be skipped entirely.
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How to Take an Accurate Bite Registration
Essential Tools and Equipment
To perform an accurate bite registration for dentures or other appliances, have the following available:
- Fox’s bite plane (bite fork) for occlusal plane orientation
- Rim former for wax shaping
- Willis gauge for vertical measurements (digital calipers may be substituted)
- Wax knife and Bunsen burner for controlled adjustment
- Bite registration material, such as a PVS (polyvinyl siloxane) dispensing gun
1. Assess Fit and Stability
Upon receiving bite rims, verify that each rim fits properly in the patient’s mouth independently. They should demonstrate retention like a well-fitting denture and remain stable during repeated functional movements. If stability is inadequate, the impression (or digital scan) may be causing an issue, and a new impression is indicated. We encourage you to retake the impression, and return the rims to the laboratory for remaking, before proceeding.
2. Determining the Occlusal Vertical Dimension and Preparing the Bite Rims
Establishing an appropriate Occlusal Vertical Dimension (OVD)—also commonly referred to as Vertical Dimension of Occlusion (VDO)—is essential. Excessive opening causes muscle tension and discomfort, while excessive closure produces a collapsed appearance.
Follow these steps to capture the measurement:
- Without anything in the mouth, ask the patient to relax and make bilabial sounds, such as repeating the p sound, “puh.”
- Use the Willis gauge to measure from just under the nose to the chin. (This is the RVD or rest vertical dimension.). A set of digital calipers may also be used to record this distance, and a small mark with a felt tip point serves as an easy reference point for measurement confirmation later on in the procedure.
- Instruct the patient to bite and clench on any existing dentate to create full tooth contact prior to measuring the VDO. For completely edentulous patients, capture the record as they swallow; use that position as the vertical dimension.
- Again, measure from just under the nose to the chin, or to the previously placed felt tip marker spots
- Seat the wax rims and adjust their height by adding or removing wax to achieve an approximate 2-4 mm gap between the bite rims, with the patient resting at the previously measured VDO.
3. Record Reference Points
It is essential to mark specific aesthetic and functional reference points on the wax bite blocks:
- Lip support and prominence: Adjust labial/buccal wax to the patient’s comfort and aesthetics.
- Canine lines: Indicate nasal width to delineate the canine-to-canine limits for anterior tooth placement. Mark both canines on the upper wax rim
- Midline: Establish the facial midline (forehead–nose–chin) and refine based on patient preference or observed asymmetry (e.g., off-centre nose). Mark midline on upper wax rim.
- Smile line: Mark where the upper lip rests during a natural smile to guide tooth length.
Note: Some patients may ask why wax is used and markings are drawn. We suggest clarifying that this step simply maps how the jaws meet and where the upper and lower teeth should appear. It is a template for function and aesthetics, not a preview of the final look. The completed denture will feature natural teeth and contours informed by today’s records.
4. Verify Occlusal Plane Orientation
Use the Fox’s bite plane to confirm the occlusal plane is parallel to the line from the base of the nose to the base of the ear. Proper orientation supports balanced contact and prevents the future denture from tipping.
5. Capture the Bite Record
Remove the rims from the mouth, and create some reference grooves on the wax rims on the occlusal plane upper and lower. Load PVS into the grooves, place in the mouth, and guide the patient to close to the previously recorded VDO, maintaining light closure until the material sets. This captures the three-dimensional relationship our lab requires for a successful tooth set-up.
6. Select Shade
Determine and record the chosen tooth shade. For challenging cases, Watersedge offers shade appointments to patients. Our experienced team can evaluate and assist with colour selection, using an extensive inventory of prefabricated teeth. There is a small fee for these shade consultations.
7. Provide Supporting Information
Add detailed notes to the prescription, including patient preferences, relevant special considerations (such as gag reflex or impression difficulties), and photographs taken with and without bite blocks to illustrate facial proportions and lip contours.
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Common Bite Registration Mistakes
Based on long-term case experience, bite registration errors tend to arise in a few predictable areas, all of which are preventable. These include:
Inadequate Initial Impressions (Poor Foundation)
It’s imperative to verify base plate stability immediately. If it rocks or dislodges, please take a new impression.
Skipping Adjustments
Bite blocks are built to average dimensions and require chairside wax adjustments to match the patient’s individual anatomy. Without these modifications, Watersedge cannot customize the restoration for optimal function or aesthetics.
Missing Aesthetic References
Unmarked or poorly marked bite blocks can lead to assumptions about tooth position. Please provide a proper bite registration with marks indicating the midline, smile line, and canine position.
Incomplete Communication
Missing shade information, patient preferences, or special circumstances hampers our ability to deliver a precisely fabricated appliance and may cause delays.
Complex Bite Registration Cases
Some cases prove to be more difficult than others. For challenging cases (e.g., significant resorption, strong gag reflex, limited undercuts, or comparable complexities), reach out to the Watersedge Dental Lab team.
Implant options may enhance stability; if not appropriate, border moulding remains an effective method to improve the impression. We have long-standing experience with these challenges and can recommend practical solutions to help ensure success.
We also have specialized tools which facilitate simplified border moulding, please contact us for additional information
Working with Watersedge Dental Laboratory
The quality of new dentures depends heavily on the experience and skill of the technicians fabricating the restoration.
Watersedge’s denture department includes five technicians with at least twenty years of experience in prosthetic dentistry. This depth of experience means our team has encountered virtually every clinical scenario, anatomical challenge, and fabrication complexity that can arise in denture cases.
Quality Systems & Continuous Improvement
Quality is built in at Watersedge. For example, a second quality assurance technician reviews each case for potential issues before shipment. Additionally, if a remake is ever deemed necessary, we conduct a “remake analysis.” We review the case, trace the point of origin, and adjust procedures to prevent recurrence. Because remakes carry real costs for clinicians and patients, we treat prevention as essential to maintaining efficiency and trust. We also maintain continuous training for the entire team, ensuring techniques and technologies remain current across the lab.
By integrating checks, learning, and feedback into our workflow, we lower rework, minimize delays, and support our dental partners with predictable outcomes. This integrated approach is the Watersedge way—consistent processes that serve clinicians and, ultimately, make patients happy.
Comprehensive Support
Consultative support is core to our service, not an add-on. Your success depends on precise fabrication and guidance through complex clinical decisions. We’re invested in that success and committed to providing the support you need. For any questions or treatment planning, contact Watersedge at any time; our team is ready to help.
Proactive Communication
In the same spirit, we contact practices immediately when potential issues are identified. If we receive bite blocks with missing information, inadequate markings, or signs of base plate instability, we reach out for clarification or additional records before proceeding with fabrication. This proactive approach prevents wasted time and materials.
Get Started with Watersedge
From exacting bite blocks to precision-fabricated dentures and other prostheses, you can depend on the Watersedge team for consistent quality and timely communication. Our goal is simple: be the partner who helps you deliver predictable care with positive outcomes.
Ready to begin or need case advice? Contact us today.
