title: Wisdom.
abstract: Restorative dentists are often faced with the challenge of weighing best practice treatment plans against the treatment requests of their patients. I believe we all must ask ourselves prior to performing any dental procedure, "How do I know this restoration will be successful, given the multitude of physiological, pathological and anatomical limitations that can affect the prognosis?" There is no restorative dental procedure that is free of risk. The purpose of this article is to examine an interesting and somewhat controversial restorative case that illuminates perception and judgment and the consequences of risk assessment.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Apfel
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy; D019250:Dental Implants, Single-Tooth; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011176:Post and Core Technique; D012390:Root Canal Therapy / Q000379:methods; D016312:Treatment Refusal