Dermatology in southwestern Ethiopia: rationale for a community approach

The objective of our follow-up study was to evaluate the success of two different types of partially prefabricated post-and-core systems following crown placement. Two hundred and thirty-seven Permador posts and 49 Radix posts were evaluated clinically. Radiological follow-up was performed for 230 Permador posts and 47 Radix posts. The restorations had been in situ for an average of 3.9 years (Permador posts) and 2.3 years (Radix posts), respectively. Root canal fillings were evaluated as to their length, their homogeneity and their flushness with the walls of the root canal. The post-and-cores were evaluated for their orientation in the root canal and for the length of the inserted post relative to the length of the root. The position of the post was classified as centric in 78.0% of the restorations followed, and eccentric in 19.5%, while 2.5% showed a root perforation. The minimal requirement that the length of the post-and-core should at least be equal to the length of the clinical crown was met in 85% of the cases. Eighteen (6.3%) of the 286 teeth examined had to be extracted. There were significant correlations between insertion periods, horizontal bone loss, length of the root canal filling, and position of the post on one hand and tooth loss on the other.