Restoring endodontically treated teeth: a survey of current opinions among board-certified prosthodontists and general dental practitioners in Sweden.

PURPOSE: The main aim was to investigate the current opinions among general dental practitioners and board-certified prosthodontists in Sweden on how to restore root-filled teeth.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire containing 31 multiple-choice questions was mailed to 892 general practitioners and 150 board-certified prosthodontists in Sweden. The questions asked for information on when the clinicians used posts in endodontically treated teeth and what kind of clinical procedure they used. They were also asked if they believed that a post strengthened a root-filled tooth.
RESULTS: Sixty percent of the general practitioners and 67% of the prosthodontists returned the questionnaire. Twenty-nine percent of the responding general practitioners and 17% of the prosthodontists were of the opinion that a post reinforces a root-filled tooth. Only a few clinicians used posts "always" or "most of the time" when restoring endodontically treated teeth with fillings, while the vast majority used posts when restoring such teeth with crowns or fixed partial dentures. In both groups of dentists, cast posts were most commonly used. Despite the present knowledge that parallel-sided posts have a significantly higher success rate than tapered cast posts, only a minority of Swedish dentists use parallel-sided posts.
CONCLUSION: In contrast to the results of several current studies, a high proportion of both general practitioners and prosthodontists believe that a post reinforces an endodontically treated tooth. This is one probable explanation for the almost ubiquitous application of posts when teeth are restored with crowns or fixed partial dentures.