Chairside - Glidewell Dental Labs

Figure 5: Smoothing the tooth’s surface using a superfine diamond
bur (40 microns) to completely remove the old fractured portion of
the tooth surface
Figure 6: Smoothing the root surface creates a parabolic architecture
to mimic the soft tissue contours, allowing for a new biologic width to
reestablish without having to significantly alter the bone.
CONCLUSION
When performing traditional crown lengthening for a
fractured tooth, the potential need to remove excessive bone
to create space for the biologic width is cause for concern.
Conventional thinking is to locate the apical location of
the fracture and start removing bone from that point. With
biologic shaping, however, the fractured portion of the
tooth is removed first to preserve as much bone as possible.
This conservative procedure can avoid excessive removal
of bone and help preserve bone in the furcation area,
leading to long-term stability and a successful restorative
outcome. CM
Figure 7: After 12 weeks of healing and the establishment of the
biologic width, a new crown was placed just coronal to the gingival
collar. Notice that the location of the new margin is in perfect harmony
with the adjacent teeth.
Dr. Daniel Melker is in private practice in Clearwater, Fla., and lectures nationwide
on periodontics. Contact him at 727-725-0100.
64 www.chairsidemagazine.com