Chairside - Glidewell Dental Labs
Chairside - Glidewell Dental Labs
Chairside - Glidewell Dental Labs
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BIOLOGIC SHAPING<br />
An Alternative to Extracting a<br />
Tooth with a Severe Fracture<br />
– ARTICLE and CLINICAL PHOTOS by<br />
Daniel J. Melker, DDS<br />
When a cusp of a tooth is fractured subgingivally<br />
approximating the bone, extraction is a commonly<br />
considered treatment, due to concern about the significant<br />
bone removal required by other procedures to create<br />
space for the biologic width. That being said, addressing<br />
this primary concern of removing bone to create space for<br />
the biologic width presents the alternative procedure of<br />
biologic shaping.<br />
The premise for traditional crown lengthening to preserve<br />
a fractured tooth is that the surgeon must remove enough<br />
bone, starting from the most apical portion of the fracture,<br />
to create space for the biologic width. This method can<br />
result in a significant loss of bone, tooth mobility and, if<br />
the fracture is located near the furcation, a compromised<br />
furcation area.<br />
Biologic shaping offers an alternative to conventional crown<br />
lengthening through removal of the fractured portion of the<br />
tooth, allowing for a new biologic width to reform without<br />
significant removal of bone. The case presented here<br />
illustrates this technique.<br />
62 www.chairsidemagazine.com
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