Differentiation into sagittal and transversal compensation curve (compensare [lat.] = compensate); prevent disclusion of the rows of teeth during a tooth-guided mandibular movement through uniform contacts on the working and non-working side.
Sagittal compensation curve: from the vestibular point of view, the arched course of the upper row of teeth runs from the apex of the canine to the disto-buccal cusp of the first molars. This is often equated with the SPEE curve (named after the German anatomist Ferdinand SPEE), however SPEE describes a circular path which is far too curved for physiological sliding movements of the lower jaw and would not allow a balanced occlusion.
Transversal compensation curve: the curve of the left and right lingual as well as buccal posterior cusps viewed from proximal. This transverse curve position of the posterior teeth varies from tooth type to tooth type; also re-ferred to as the Wilson curve.
