Endocrown - A Viable Effective Alternate for a Crown

The objective of the present chapter is to present clinical cases, in which an esthetic and conservative posterior endocrown was used to restore a mandibular molar that had undergone endodontic treatment and extensive coronal destruction and to assist clinicians in making decisions on when and whether endocrowns are an appropriate restorative option with a predictable outcome for extensively damaged endodontically treated teeth. The restoration of endodontically treated teeth (ETT) is a topic that has been widely and controversially discussed in the dental literature, and clinical opinions on this subject has been based on empirical philosophies due to the weak link between available scientific data and inconclusive clinical studies. After endodontic treatment, tooth lose their mechanical characteristics and become fragile due to the removal of pulp and surrounding dentin tissues. Endocrown which is a single partial restoration could be considered as a good alternative for restoring molars having large coronal destruction and presenting post endodontic treatment difficulties. The main objective of an endocrown is to achieve a bonded biomimetic reconstruction, i.e., minimally invasive to root canals. The clinical procedure that involves the Endocrown fabrication may be considered less complex, more practical, and easier to perform when compared with that of conventional crowns with post and core. This chapter highlights three different case reports of badly mutilated endodontically treated teeth, effectively managed by means of endocrown-type restorations fabricated with both metal-free and metal ceramic-based prosthesis with a 3 year follow-up period.