[Treatment of subgingival crown root fracture: forced eruption--case report]

The conventional treatment methods for a subgingival crown root fracture are (1) extract the residual root and restore with a fixed bridge; (2) crown restoration with a deep subgingival margin; and (3) exposure of the fracture line by a crown lengthening operation and restoration with a crown. However, these methods require reduction of either the tooth structure or the periodontal support. Improvements in endodontic and orthodontic therapy followed Heithersay in 1973 to combine the use of endodontic and orthodontic therapy to manage subgingival crown root fractures--the so-called forced eruption method. This method can save the tooth structure and periodontal tissue. We can now use this method with different appliances to treat subgingival fractures, subgingival caries, subgingival perforations, infrabony pockets, etc. In this report, we present three cases using forced eruption to manage a subgingival fracture and subgingival caries and in the follow-up examination after crown restoration.