Statement of problem: There is limited scientific evidence which quantifies the amount of tissue removed during endodontic and restorative procedures.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the mass of tissue structure removed from incisor and canine teeth following successive preparations.
Material and methods: Twenty-two intact, disease- and restoration-free teeth (n=11/group) were collected from consenting patients undergoing dental extractions at Eastman Dental Hospital. The teeth were stored in 4% formaldehyde saline and successively prepared for an access opening (AC), endodontic instrumentation (EI), porcelain laminate veneer (PC), metal-ceramic (MC) crown, and post-and-core (PC) preparations. The baseline mass for each tooth was measured and recorded, in grams, at baseline and after each preparation, on a digital analytical balance. A standard protocol was applied to ensure accurate mass measurements. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to make comparisons between the incisor and canine groups (alpha =.05) for actual mass of tooth in milligrams, percentage of tooth mass remaining compared to baseline, and percentage decrease in mass compared to the preceding procedure.
Results: The estimated marginal percentage mass lost was significantly greater (P<.001) in the incisor group compared to the canine group, as an overall trend, with the incisors losing proportionally more mass for each procedure (P<.001).
Conclusions: Mean percentage of removed tooth tissue increased successively from EI, AC, PC, and PV preparation, with greatest change from the previous procedure occurring for MC crown preparation.