Using an existing crown to repair a damaged cast post and core restoration

A fractured coronal tooth structure beneath an intact crown is a common clinical occurrence. If the underlying root is healthy, the tooth is restored with a post and core followed by refabrication of the crown. This paper describes a technique of using the existing intact crown for the above-mentioned situation. A 34-year-old female was referred with a fractured right canine with an intact crown. A post was found fractured in the canal which was subsequently retrieved. A new fiber post was cemented in the post space followed by adaptation of 50 μm polytetrafluoroethylene (teflon) tape on the tissue surface of the crown. Dual-cured core build-up composite resin was injected into the crown and adapted to the fractured tooth. On curing and removal of the crown, a new composite resin core was found bonded to the tooth structure. The Teflon tape was removed from the crown, and the crown cemented to the core using glass ionomer cement. This technique of building up the core of the tooth using teflon tape adapted to the tissue surface of the crown was found to be successful even after 1 year of follow-up.