A dental articulator is a contraption that helps the mouth work in as normal as way as possible. To set the articulator to the correct size, a dental model must be taken with impressions. This is then placed into the machine so as to accurately re-construct the use of the mouth. Records are taken so as to position the dental model on the articulator.
A dental model articulator includes two hinge-jointed arms, each arm having segments connected to a hinge joint having mating elements, one integral to each segment of an arm. One element includes two cymbals that are coaxial on a major hinge axis and concave facing which resiliently capture between them a node of the mating element on the other segment which has the form of opposed, outwardly facing convexities. Multiaxial motion between the segments of each arm is accomodated by the rotation of the convexities of the node within detents at the apices of the cymbals.