Articulating paper tells you where teeth touch; shimstock tells you whether they actually hold. Neither tells you how hard they bite. This article explains which occlusal indicator to use for which question, how thick each one is, a chairside sequence for static and dynamic contacts on new restorations and splints, and what the research says about reading the marks.
Four tools, four questions
Occlusal indicators are often lumped together as "paper". In practice, they differ in material, thickness and how readily they release colour, and each is best at answering one specific question.
| Indicator | Typical thickness | Material | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articulating paper, e.g. Bausch Arti-Check (red/blue) | 40 µm | paper | Where are the main contacts? (gross adjustment, static and dynamic) |
| Thin articulating film, e.g. Bausch Arti-Fol | 8 µm | plastic | Are the static contacts even and pinpoint? (fine adjustment) |
| Articulating film, e.g. Coltène HANEL OccluFoil+ | 12 µm | plastic | Where are the contacts on a resin splint? |
| Articulating silk, e.g. Bausch (red) | 80 µm | fabric | Which teeth contact during excursions? |
| Shimstock, e.g. Coltène HANEL | 8 µm | metal, uncoated | Does this tooth pair hold in closure? |
Thicknesses are taken from the manufacturers' product information. Coltène recommends a three-step sequence for its range: articulating paper first (200, 80 or 40 µm), then 12-µm occlusion foil, and finally 8-µm shimstock. Working from coarse to fine is also the principle behind the protocol Dr. Hajtó teaches.
Articulating paper: the overview
The 40-µm red/blue paper is of medium thickness but compresses under load. Because it is paper, it tears more easily than plastic film, and it marks better on dry surfaces. Dr. Hajtó uses it for gross adjustment: static and dynamic contacts on teeth and restorations, and both static and dynamic contacts on splints. In the holder it can be used as a single strip or doubled, with the same colour facing outwards.
For two-colour marking, Bausch suggests marking the static occlusion in red first and the dynamic occlusion in blue second; the order can be reversed. Whatever sequence you choose, keep it consistent so that the assistant and the technician read the marks the same way.
Thin plastic film: fine-tuning the static occlusion
An 8-µm plastic film is very thin and tear-resistant. It must be used on completely dry teeth, otherwise it hardly marks. Its strengths are:
- Fine adjustment of static contacts on teeth and restorations, after the paper has located the main high spots.
- Screening the static contacts in the intercuspal position.
- Tactile testing for interferences: a strip placed between the posterior teeth is put under tension while the patient moves laterally. If it is held, there is a contact.
- A shimstock substitute: torn into a narrow strip, it can be used in the same way as shimstock.
It is not suitable for marking dynamic contacts.
A 12-µm film such as HANEL OccluFoil+ marks on both sides, is tear-resistant, transfers colour well onto resin and is more forgiving of slightly moist surfaces. Dr. Hajtó therefore uses it as his "splint film" for static contacts on occlusal splints. Coltène also describes it for tests in which the patient grinds or the film is pulled through.
Articulating silk: dynamic contacts
Silk of 80 µm is thick but compresses, marks on both sides and releases colour very readily, even where teeth only brush past each other. That makes it the best choice for dynamic contacts on teeth and restorations: lateral and protrusive guidance, working-side contacts and non-working-side contacts. For fine-tuning static contacts, use thin film instead. Like the other indicators, silk marks better when dry.
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See all coursesShimstock: holding or not holding
Shimstock is a thin metal foil without any colour coating. HANEL shimstock is 8 µm thick and comes as an 8 mm × 5 m roll; Bausch also supplies uncoated shimstock in several widths and a 12-µm metallic polyester film (Arti-Fol metallic) coated on one side. Shimstock marks nothing. It gives a binary answer for one tooth pair: does it hold the foil when the patient closes?
Coltène describes the target for adjusted contacts like this: with the teeth in normal closure, the foil should only just be pullable through; with muscle tone, it is held. In practice, you compare. A new crown on 36 should hold the strip about as firmly as 35 and 37, and after adjustment 35 and 37 should still hold.
What do articulating paper marks actually show?
Mark size does not equal force
A large, dark mark looks like a heavy contact. The evidence says otherwise. Carey and colleagues (2007) loaded epoxy casts from 25 to 450 N and analysed 600 marks. Mark area increased with load, but non-linearly and with high variability between teeth; no direct relationship between mark area and load could be found. Qadeer and colleagues (2012) compared paper marks with computerised force recordings in 30 dentate women. The largest mark in a quadrant was on the tooth with the highest force only 38.3% of the time, and force explained only about 7% of mark area.
Millstein and Maya (2001) found that thickness, colour and material of the indicator all influenced mark size, and that marks were not always repeatable even when indicators were used the same way. Mitchem and colleagues (2017) showed in the laboratory that interposed indicators generally change the contact forces themselves.
The practical conclusion is simple: articulating paper and film show the location of contacts reliably. Whether a contact is too heavy is judged by comparison with neighbouring teeth, by shimstock and by the patient's feedback, not by the size of the mark.
Thin indicators are reliable for static contacts
Schütze, Beuer and Bumann (2025) tested indicators against shimstock as the reference standard on 20 epoxy typodonts mounted in an articulator in maximum intercuspation. 40-µm articulating paper and 12-µm articulating film showed almost perfect agreement with shimstock (kappa 0.94 and 0.93). A digital sensor system (OccluSense) reached only kappa 0.22 overall and 0.02 in deep-bite models. Used correctly, conventional thin indicators remain a dependable way to check static occlusion.
Chairside sequence for a new restoration
Static contacts
- Dry everything. Teeth and indicator should be as dry as possible; moisture reduces colour transfer.
- Retract the tongue and cheek. The assistant needs to hold the tongue away, especially at the second molars (17, 27, 37, 47).
- Locate high spots with 40-µm paper in a holder while the patient closes into the intercuspal position.
- Refine with 8-µm film and adjust until contacts are simultaneous and pinpoint.
- Confirm with shimstock, tooth pair by tooth pair, comparing the restoration with its neighbours on both sides.
- Check where there should be no contact. The upper lateral incisors (12, 22) normally carry no static contacts, and anterior teeth only touch lightly in the natural dentition. When building up a canine, keep the centric contact, leaving only minimal clearance that you check with shimstock.
As a reference, natural, untreated dentitions show simultaneous, small contacts, on average about 10 per posterior quadrant (range 6 to 14), with few marginal ridge contacts (End 1996).
Dynamic contacts
- Finish the static adjustment first.
- Mark excursions with 80-µm silk or with paper in the second colour while the patient glides right, left and forwards.
- Read the pattern. With canine guidance, only the canines guide laterally and the incisors protrusively; marks on posterior teeth on the working side or on the non-working side are interferences. Avoid dynamic contacts on 12 and 22, distally on the upper canines and mesiopalatally on the upper first premolars (14, 24). The rationale is covered in the article on canine guidance and the occlusion concept.
- Confirm by feel. Pull a strip of 8-µm film from between the posterior teeth during the lateral movement. If it slides out freely, they separate; if it is held, there is a contact.
- Adjust selectively. On the working side, remove interferences preferably on the non-supporting cusps; on the non-working side, on the inner slopes of the supporting cusps. Then recheck the static contacts so that no holding contact is lost.
After adjusting zirconia or lithium disilicate restorations, smooth and polish the ground surfaces in two steps: pre-polishing first, then diamond ceramic polishers.
Splints and other special situations
On resin splints, a film that marks well on resin and tolerates slightly moist surfaces is helpful. Dr. Hajtó uses 12-µm film for static contacts and paper for both static and dynamic contacts. His laboratory standard for a Michigan-type splint is one contact per opposing tooth, ideally on a supporting cusp; no static contact on the canines and incisors, where shimstock should just fail to hold; and the upper lateral incisors kept completely out of occlusion and guidance. Background on splint design is given in the article on occlusal splint therapy.
Shimstock is also a quick way to document which posterior teeth hold and which do not, for example when anterior build-ups intentionally leave the posterior teeth out of contact in a Dahl approach.
Common pitfalls
- Wet teeth: marks are missing or smeared. Dry and retract.
- Wrong indicator: silk marks even light brushing contacts and is too strong for static fine-tuning; 8-µm film is unsuitable for marking excursions.
- Reading mark size as force: large marks are not necessarily the heaviest contacts.
- Looking at one arch only: check marks on both arches and compare with adjacent teeth.
- Wrong jaw position: check in the position the restoration was made for. If it was made in centric relation recorded with an anterior jig, check it there too. An inaccurate bite record cannot be corrected with an indicator.
- Stopping too early: after every adjustment, recheck static and dynamic contacts.
Summary
Use 40-µm articulating paper to locate the main contacts, 8-µm plastic film to fine-tune static contacts and to test separation by feel, 12-µm film on splints, 80-µm silk for excursions and 8-µm shimstock to confirm which tooth pairs hold. Indicators show where teeth touch, not how hard; working dry and comparing with neighbouring teeth matter more than the colour of the mark. Checking and adjusting occlusion on patients is part of the VDO dental training course in English.
Frequently asked questions
How thick is shimstock?
Coltène's HANEL shimstock is 8 µm thick, an uncoated metal foil supplied 8 mm wide and 5 m long. Bausch also offers uncoated shimstock in several widths and a 12-µm metallic polyester film (Arti-Fol metallic) with a colour coating on one side. Uncoated shimstock leaves no mark; it only shows whether a tooth pair holds it in closure.
What thickness of articulating paper should I use?
It depends on the question. Thicker paper such as 40 µm gives an overview of the main contacts and works for static and dynamic marking. For fine adjustment of static contacts, an 8-µm plastic film is more precise. For excursions, 80-µm articulating silk marks dynamic contacts most clearly. Finish by confirming the holding contacts with 8-µm shimstock.
Does a bigger articulating paper mark mean a heavier contact?
No, not reliably. Laboratory and clinical studies found no direct relationship between mark area and applied force. In one clinical study, the largest mark in a quadrant was on the most heavily loaded tooth only 38.3% of the time. Judge heavy contacts by comparing with adjacent teeth, by shimstock and by patient feedback, not by mark size.
Why is my articulating paper not marking?
Moisture is the usual reason. Very thin plastic film in particular needs completely dry surfaces, and paper and silk also mark better when dry. Ask the assistant to dry the teeth and hold the tongue and cheek away, especially at the second molars. On resin splints, use a film that transfers colour well onto resin.
How do I use shimstock correctly?
Place a strip between one opposing tooth pair, ask the patient to close normally and pull the strip out. If it is held, the teeth are in contact; if it slides out, they are not. Always compare with the neighbouring teeth on both sides, and repeat after every adjustment so that you do not grind away holding contacts.
