CAD/CAM Customized Glass Fiber Post and Core With Digital Intraoral Impression: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: After endodontic treatment, a proper restorative technique is necessary to ensure coronal seal and protection of residual dental structure; teeth which have lost two or more walls need to be restored with posts to increase retention and stability of final restoration. Posts can be distinguished in prefabricated and customized, which are manufactured by lost wax technique or CAD-CAM. PURPOSE: Digital dentistry has been developed to increase workflow precision and to accelerate production process; use of CAD-CAM to realize customized posts was limited to scanning plaster models obtained from traditional impressions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the reported case an intraoral scan was used to mill a post and core restoration on an endodontically treated inferior premolar; this operative protocol was based on previous in vitro experiments that confirmed the ability of 3shape Trios scanner to read post-space up to 9 mm in depth. RESULTS: The digital technique allows us to convert the concave surface of the root canal into the convex surface of the post, and realize an anatomical post and core that improves the biomechanics of the endodontically treated tooth reducing the possibility of root fractures. CONCLUSION: The use of an intraoral digital scanner represents an opportunity for the clinician as it speeds up the production of an anatomical post and core restorations.