Astudillo-Rozas W, Valdivia-Gandur I, Vasquez A V et al. Declarative knowledge in oral health: The case of the term 'centric occlusion'. Eur J Dent Educ 2022; DOI: 10.1111/eje.12881.

Differences highlighted between specialities.

Declarative knowledge - the facts students need to know - assumes that facts and definitions are consistent across speciality areas. The definition and interpretation of centric occlusion (CO) 'has historically been a source of confusion.' In the Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms (GPT), it was not until the 1987 edition that CO and the 'maximal intercuspal position' (MIC) were differentiated (CO ≠ MIC).

A literature search found 812 articles published since 2005 across different specialities where a definition of CO could be identified. The majority of articles used the pre-1987 GPT definition that CO = MIC. This was more likely in articles which did not cite GPT in the references, although 26 which defined CO = MIC still used the post-1987 editions of GPT as a reference. The orthodontic speciality was significantly associated with CO = MIC. CO ≠ MIC was significantly associated with the oral rehabilitation speciality.

The lack of academic agreement on the definition of such core concepts as CO 'generates confusion and miscommunication amongst students, professionals and researchers.'