Frankfort Mandibular Plane Angle: Critically Appraised Topic (CAT)

Abstract

Purpose The objective of this Critically Appraised Topic was to determine the level of evidence relative to the usefulness of the Frankfort mandibular plane angle in prosthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods The Patient Intervention Comparison Outcome (PICO) mesh heading received zero PubMed references, as did Frankfort Mandibular Plane Angle (FMA) as a determinant for dental occlusion and Frankfort Mandibular Plane Angle as a determinant of the occlusal scheme. Frankfort Mandibular Plane Angle alone received 168 PubMed citations that highlighted 2 DiPietro articles and a third from the orthodontics literature which was a Randomized Controlled Trial not relevant to the PICO. Four others, three prosthodontic and one orthodontic publication, were related to the PICO. A Google search revealed one additional article, which was a narrative review. Results Nine articles were related to the search, 2 of which were clinical trials that revealed no evidence to support the use of FMA as a diagnostic test. Conclusion Based on the limited data presented above, there is a lack of evidence to support the use of FMA as a diagnostic procedure to predict outcomes, or dictate prosthodontic treatment.