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It has always been a dream goal for dentists to be able to restore teeth which have been destroyed all the way to the root. One of the standard methods has been to introduce a post in the root canal and build up a crown. Endodontic posts have changed and improved over the last three decades dramatically. Dr. Kim Sperly from Denmark presents his method of post systems over a series of articles. Answer the five questions correctly an stand to win a set of three DT Light Transmitting Post - Courtesy MediVentures (India) and RTD (France) The DT Light Transmitting Post - A Success StoryThe origins of RTD go way back to 1968 when it was launched by Dr. Marc Reynaud, a visionary and pioneer of his profession. Subsequent to the launch of RTD, Dr. Reynaud has spent more and more of his time to develop and finetune the restoration of a weak tooth leading to the development of the first carbon fiber post on the market in 1989. The product development has gone through Composipost, Composipost Aesthetic Plus, the Composipost Light Post and now the DT Light Post (the newest incarnation of the Composipost from RTD). More than 9 million Composiposts have been cemented worldwide. Composiposts are used on a dailybasis in more than 60 countries and have been the subject of articles and scientific studies in more than 30 scientific dental magazines. The very concept was to create a post that mimics the characteristics of the natural tooth. The strive for perfection plus the unique quality controls are some of the reasons that posts from RTD are top of the class - next to nothing. Many of us probably have the same doubts about the durability of a "non-metalpost" as I had when I was first intruduced to it in 1992. We are - and were - taught in dental school and by manufactures that a post should be either cast gold, stainless steel, Titanium, Zirkonium etc. in order to be strong enough. But we don't want a post that is "stronger" or should we say "more rigid" than the tooth because then it is the tooth that is the weak link. We want a post that works like the tooth ! And the RTD post does that with more than 10 years to prove it ! Actuall fatiguetests shows that RTD posts are "stronger" than metal post, just stronger in a more safe sense of the word. To many people around the world Scandinavia stands for quality, and the Scandinavian healthsystem stands for the highest level of care and Scandinavian dentistry for good, solid well proven dental management. Well, more than 50 % of all Scandinavian dentists uses Composiposts as their post-of-choice. To me that says a lot ! And if that is not enough look at fig. 1 (University findings) Another great advance is the retrivability, the "no-point-of-no-return" that is build into the RTD post system. We all know the worts "oh-no" scenario: the patients comes with complains about pain and swelling from a tooth with a post into the root. The x-rays shows an apical infection ! The treatment options will be apicectomy or extraction. The great news are: not with this system, folks. Here you simply get access to the post (removing the crown, the filling ) and then with the specially designed burkit you make a pilothole in the top of the post and drill out the post in a few minutes. You then access the apex in a normal way, treat the problem as you would in a tooth without a post. When the infection is defeated a new rootfilling is made, and then a new post is cemented and the restoration remade. The tooth is saved. As an "old" and very satisfied user of Composipost - which fully has lived up to my demands outside the aesthetic zone, I have deleloped some gray hair over using a dark post on a visible tooth that was prepared for a composite restoration or a porcelain crown. I have tried to mask it with opaquers, white composite etc., but … It was not totally satisfying. The patients were normally happy, but I were not when I saw it or was showing my slides at lectures worldwide because there was a shadow ! Using the Aesthetic Plus solved some of the problems, but not all. I was missing a system where I was in total control of the color of the core / underlying "toothstructure". Many problems are universal, and the problems that you and I are having are often shared by our colleagues. And in that way demands or wishes develop and subsequently innovative products are invented. One such product is the DT Light Post. Made by quartz fibers we have a product that is translucent and thus does not show it self in the restoration. The color of the core is totally in the dentists control. And the bonding is super since the post to a large extent transmits the UV-light down into the root (but a dual cure cement is still a must…). So you are on to creating the core in less than 30 seconds. The combination post-core can often be finished in less than 10-15 minutes and you are, e.g. ready for impression. Do I sound impressed ? I am ! I was happy when I quit using amalgam 13 years ago, proud when I found the secrets behind durable porcelain veneers and head-over-heals when it was possible to make a post-core without the risk of corrosion, with characteristics as the natural tooth and optimal cosmetic characteristics. Try it and share my enthusiasm. Facts and Figures
In articles to follow I will show, step-by-step, how to use this innovative product through
cases. For more information please feel free to contact
CE Questions
Question One:The weakest link in a tooth which has been restored with a post, core and a crown is
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