[Large unit restorations. Clinical study]

In this study, 327 large restorations performed over ten years of dental practice, were analyzed. Although the evaluation of failure or success in terms of filling and also in terms of fixed prosthesis remains debatable, the results obtained here are encouraging: in fact, the 6.5% failures led to believe that large posterior restorations with amalgam represent an intermediate alternative to fixed prosthesis as long as aesthetics are not a major concern to the patient. The high rate of success (at 4 years in an average) could be related to cusp protection due to the filling material for 61% of the cusps in the sampling.