Fabricating a computer-aided design provisional with a customized access opening for root canal therapy.

ABSTRACT

As dentists, we strive to find ways to balance a patient’s wants and needs. Many times we are we are challenged to find ways to meet the patient’s expectations while simultaneously maintaining the standard of care for the patient. The purpose of this case study is to present an option for extended provisionalization of a tooth requiring retreatment of a previously root canal treated tooth. Using Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufactured (CAD/CAM) technology, we were able to fabricate a provisional with a custom lingual access for endodontic retreatment. We found that for this patient, the durability and esthetics of the provisional, and the ability to retreat the tooth without the repeated removal of the provisional presented a positive patient care outcome.