title: Long-term survival of complete crowns, fixed dental prostheses, and cantilever fixed dental prostheses with posts and cores on root canal-treated teeth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the long-term survival of posts and cores on root canal-treated (RCT) teeth restored with complete crowns, fixed dental prostheses (FDPs), 3-unit FDPs, and cantilever FDPs (C-FDPs) made over a period of 16 to 20 years in an undergraduate clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Complete treatment and follow-up records of 1,037 complete crowns, 134 three-unit FDPs, 322 FDPs, and 168 C-FDPs were available for analysis. All RCT teeth studied had a post-and-core buildup. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to evaluate the different types of fixed restorations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For complete crowns, the estimated survival rates at year 18 were 74.9% for the vital group and 79.4% for the RCT group (P = .602). For 3-unit FDPs, the survival rate at year 20 was 83.2% for the vital group and 60.5% for the RCT group (P = .108). For the FDPs, the survival rate at year 20 was 77.4% for the vital group, while for the RCT group with at least 1 RCT abutment, the survival rate was 56.7% (P = .002). For C-FDPs with vital abutments, the survival rate was 73.5% at year 16, while for the RCT group with at least 1 RCT abutment, the survival rate was 52.3% at year 18 (P < .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no statistically significant difference in the long-term survival of complete crowns on vital abutments versus post-and-core complete crowns or in the survival of 3-unit FDPs on vital abutments versus those with at least 1 RCT abutment. For FDPs with more than 3 units and C-FDPs, the use of a post-and-core abutment led to significantly more failures.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Special Care, PaeCaMed Research, Unit of Gnathology and Temporomandibular Disorders, Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium. Hein.Debacker@skynet.be
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Backer
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Maele
authors.forename: Veerle
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Decock
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van den Berghe
mesh_terms: D003442:Crowns; D000044:Dental Abutments; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003779:Denture Design; D003830:Denture, Partial, Fixed; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D011176:Post and Core Technique; D012189:Retrospective Studies