Restoration of 1325 teeth with partial-coverage crowns manufactured from high noble metal alloys: a retrospective case series 18.8 years after prosthetic delivery

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate long-term survival and success rates of conventionally cemented partial-coverage crowns (PCCs) manufactured from high noble metal alloys (hn). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Restoration-, periodontal- and tooth-related criteria on patients, restored with a single or multiple conventionally cemented hnPCCs in a private dental office were collected from existing patient records. With regard to semi-annual follow-ups, data of the most recent clinical evaluations were considered. Kaplan–Meier and log-rank tests were used for statistical analyses. Level of significance was set at p ≤ .05. RESULTS: Between 09/1983 and 09/2009, 1325 hnPCCs were conventionally cemented on 1325 teeth in 266 patients (mean age: 44.5 ± 10.7 years). Due to various reasons, 81 hnPCCs showed complications, documenting a success rate of 93.9% after a mean observation period of 18.8 ± 5.7 years. Of these, additional 14 restorations were counted as survival, resulting in a survival rate of 94.9%. Most frequent complications were periodontal issues (n = 29, 35.8%). Significantly higher success rates were documented for hnPCCs of patients aged between 37 and 51 years (p = .012). CONCLUSION: Partial-coverage crowns from high noble metal alloys showed excellent survival and success rates after a mean observation period of 18.8 ± 5.7 years. Higher patient age was one of the risk factors. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: According to the results of this study, hnPCCs still represent an excellent therapeutic option—even in modern dentistry.