The application of fiber core posts in restoring badly destroyed primary incisors

Abstract

Early childhood caries (ECC) represents a challenge to pediatric dentists especially, when teeth are badly destroyed. ECC involves the upper anterior teeth early in life and by the time the dentist sees the child, most of the coronal structure is lost. Dentally, this is a very devastating situation for both the dentist and parents, as in many cases, extraction of these teeth is the only option. With the introduction of new adhesive systems and restorative materials, a new approach for treating these teeth is explained and documented by clinical cases, where fiber core posts are introduced into the root canals of primary incisors for a distance of 2 to 3 mm. It is retained in place by flowable composite, then the coronal part is reconstructed by a strip crown to restore the crown form. After a follow up period of one year, only 2 teeth out of 30 had to be extracted. The failure was attributed to failure in pulpal therapy rather than failure in the restorations, which were totally intact. A laboratory testing of the fracture load resistance of the restored teeth proved that this technique significantly improved the fracture load resistance of composite celluloid crowns, making it a valuable procedure to consider when the coronal tooth structure is not enough to support and retain a composite celluloid strip crown.