Is the glass half empty or half full? A novel “philosophical” approach to the “mystery” of the so-called ferrule effect.

The prognosis of endodontically treated teeth has traditionally been associated with the presence of the so-called ferrule effect that is generally related with the presence of a minimum of 1 to 2 mm of sound tooth structure at the cervical area of parallel axial walls that totally encircle the tooth. Even though all of these factors are well desired, one should question if their absence should condemn a tooth and compel extraction as the only logical treatment plan option.For this reason an hypothesis is being formed that associates the aforementioned factors not with the presence of the so-called ferrule effect, but rather with the resistance form of the preparation that is being provided by the sound tooth structure at the cervical area of the tooth.

Source: Medical Hypotheses - March 26, 2018 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Minos Stavridakis, Yiannis Brokos, Ivo Krejci Source Type: research