Treatment of crown fractured incisors with laminate veneer restorations. An experimental study

A method is described by which crown fractured incisors are restored with cast ceramic (Dicor) laminate veneers after initial treatment with either reattachment of the original crown fragment with a dentin bonding agent, with a composite resin build-up or no treatment (i.e. the veneer alone is used to restore the incisal edge). In order to elucidate the effect of the fragment/composite-tooth bonding interface on fracture strength of the restored teeth, the fracture strengths of the various treatment groups were compared to that of intact teeth supplied with Dicor laminate veneers. In an experimental investigation using central and lateral incisors from sheep, it was found that fracture strength (16.6 +/- 4.2 MPa) equal to that of intact incisors (16.1 +/- 2.6 MPa) could be achieved using laminate veneers made of porcelain on fractured teeth whose crown fragments were reattached using a dentin bonding agent (5). In the present investigation, using the same experimental model but using cast ceramic (Dicor) laminate veneers, the fracture strength of the restored incisors was significantly increased (21.0 +/- 3.7 MPa), exceeding that of intact teeth. The fracture strength of intact teeth was also exceeded in veneered incisors which were initially restored with a conventional composite resin build-up (20.2 +/- 5.6 MPa). However, the greatest fracture strength (28.2 +/- 8.9 MPa) was achieved when a Dicor laminate veneer alone was used to restore the fractured incisal edge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)