Restoring an Extremely Destructed Tooth with Flared Root Canal Walls: A Case Report

Abstract

Reconstructing severely damaged teeth has always presented a challenge when the remaining crown structure is limited, often requiring retention from the root canal using intracanal posts. However, the real challenge is when the root canal walls are also weak, and there is a high risk of vertical root fracture due to the wedging forces of a rigid post. This case report presents a tooth with extremely flared (0.3mm) root canal walls, successfully restored with a newly introduced polymer made of polyether ether ketone (PEEK), with one-year follow-up. Due to its close elastic modulus to dentin, capacity to bond effectively to tooth structure, shock-absorbing properties, and thereby facilitating favorable stress distribution, utilizing this material for an intracanal post has the potential to mitigate the risk of fractures often associated with cast metal posts. It combines the good fitness of cast posts with the low modulus of elasticity and optical properties of prefabricated fiber posts.