What Is A Post And Core?

If a large enough portion of a tooth is missing, whether because of a cavity, the loss of a filling, or the access cavity from root canal work, a restorative dentist can’t simply place a crown on the tooth, because it won’t be stable enough. This is where a core comes in, replacing the missing tooth structure and providing support for the new crown. Sometimes the core is enough, but if not, a post may be added to anchor the core to the tooth.

Material Matters With Core And Post Treatment

The materials the core and particularly the post are made of have a major impact on whether or not the tooth will remain stable. Clinical evidence shows that metal posts don’t do much to stabilize the tooth and may lead to fractures, whereas complications from fiber-reinforced posts are rare because the material distributes the stress to the surrounding tissues in a similar way to natural dentin.

A split tooth happens when a tooth is cracked and, over time, the crack progresses until the tooth eventually splits into two separate parts. Depending on the gravity of the split, we may not be able to save the tooth intact. Depending on the position and extent of the crack, we will determine whether part of the tooth can be saved with a crown or another restorative procedure.

Vertical root fractures are cracks that begin in the root of a tooth. Because the fracture line may not be visible, we have to pay special attention to your symptoms in order to identify if you have one. Vertical root fractures are some of the most difficult fractures to identify. They are often fixed through endodontic treatment. It is sometimes possible to save part of the tooth, but in many cases, the tooth needs to be removed.

Where To Get Posts And Cores

For reliable post and core treatment that will keep your tooth in good shape, there’s no place better than Super Smiles! Give us a call or to schedule an appointment so that we can discuss the treatment that will be best for your tooth.