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What is Cosmetic Dentistry?
Post and Core
A post and core may be one of those dental procedures that may sound a little scary at first. But once you know a bit about them, they aren't so ominous. Sometimes, due to decay, fractures, or a number of other reasons, a tooth may be damaged to the extent that the root is damaged and the portion of the teeth showing above the gum line is either not present or not sufficient to support a restoration like a crown on its own. That's where a post and core come in.
A post looks a lot like a miniature toothpick-like structure - but only about half an inch long -- that is placed within the body of a tooth that has had previous root canal therapy. It has traditionally been made of metal, but we use ones made of more flexible substances, such as carbon fiber.
During root canal therapy, the space previously occupied by the nerve is filled with a sterile plastic material. In fabricating your post, we remove some of this plastic material making sure we leave some space to seal the end of the root. The space is necessary to anchor the post within the tooth. The part of the post that is visible is called the core. It is upon this core that we can anchor a cap or crown. The post is cemented permanently into your tooth usually separate from the crown. The crown is then ready to be bonded onto the core.
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