Crown fractures in the permanent dentition: pulpal and restorative considerations

Crown fractures account for the highest percentage of all traumatic injuries in the permanent dentition. This review paper will discuss the different types of crown fracture, from the uncomplicated to complicated, including crown-root fractures. It will focus on two different aspects: the pulp, with an attempt to correlate epidemiological, experimental, histopathological and clinical studies, so that the clinician can better understand the underlying processes accounting for success or failure to maintain pulp vitality. Also, we will consider the restoration: knowledge about bonding to dentin and new material is evolving extremely quickly making it difficult for the clinician to keep up with the developments. If handled properly, prognosis of the pulp, after traumatic crown fracture, is good. Prognosis of the restoration has also improved considerably over the last few years, and it appears that this trend will continue in the future.