Endodontic complications following restorative treatment

Steve Thompson presents a recent case study.

All too often patients present to the practice with infected pulp as a result of dental caries, cracked teeth or a loose filling. Luckily root canal therapy has a 90 per cent success rate if the patient is diagnosed early enough and the treatment is carried out to a high standard. Furthermore, the advent of high-performance products along with effective techniques means that dentists can more easily, safely and effectively treat patients.

This was the case with a patient with heavily restored dentition who presented to the practice for a routine examination after having not been to the dentist for several years. An examination revealed that the patient had cracks and secondary caries in multiple molar teeth, which had been treated with amalgam restorations 20 years previously. The UR7 was the worst affected with dental caries, so we decided to treat that tooth first. The plan was to create a core restoration in composite resin placed under rubber dam and then to consider a cast restoration due to the cracks and lack of tooth structure.