Longevity of Amalgam Build-Up Restorations in Endodontically Treated Teeth

  Restoration of endodontically treated teeth is one of the most important and challenging topics in restorative dentistry. Longevity of such restorations is an essential factor in treatment planning. Amalgam build-up is a conservative method for restoration of endodontically treated teeth. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the longevity of this type of restoration in endodontically treated molar teeth. In this retrospective study, 110 endodontically treated molar teeth of 98 patients that had received amalgam build-up restorations with at least one cusp coverage with 3-10 years of longevity were evaluated. The restorations included mesio-occluso-distal (MOD;40%), disto-occlusal (DO;23%), mesio-occlusal (MO;17%) and complex amalgam restorations (20%). Binary logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier tests were used for statistical analysis. Of all restorations, cracks were observed in 22.7% of restorative materials and 10.9% of teeth. Secondary caries was found in 29% of the teeth. Based on binary lo-gistic regression, MOD restorations had significantly higher rate of marginal fracture and recurrent caries (P<0.05). Teeth with one or four built-up cusps were significantly more resistant to fracture compared to other groups. Patients, who regularly used dental floss had significantly lower rate of secondary caries and restoration fracture (P=0.032). The average longevity of amalgam build-up restorations was 8.45 years, which is comparable to minimum longevity of casting restorations. Thus, amalgam restorations seem to be an acceptable conservative method for restoration of endodontically treated teeth