Restoration of teeth with customized CAD/CAM glass fiber posts: report of 2 cases

This article presents 2 cases in which computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) was used to fabricate glass fiber posts to restore an anterior tooth and a posterior tooth with severe coronal destruction. In the past decade, CAD/CAM technology has improved, allowing high-precision milling of customized glass fiber posts. This can enhance the biomechanical behavior of the restoration, as the post and core are milled in a single unit, decreasing the risk of failure near the core junction or in the body of the core. The customized post also provides better adaptation and requires a thinner layer of cement, thus minimizing voids. In case 1, the patient had a severely damaged maxillary right canine with a ferrule from a previous restoration. In case 2, the patient presented with a mandibular left first molar exhibiting severe coronal destruction. In both cases, impressions of the root canal were scanned with a bench scanner, and the posts were fabricated using a glass fiber material designed for CAD/CAM technology. A self-adhesive resin cement was used to cement the posts in the root canals, and a metal-free crown (case 1) and overlay (case 2) were fabricated and placed. Satisfactory retention and esthetics were achieved, and both patients was pleased by the final results. These cases demonstrate the viability of CAD/CAM to restore endodontically treated teeth, and this technology can be an option for dentists interested in using a digital workflow. The longevity of the posts produced via this technique needs to be evaluated in clinical trials.