Tooth Preparation For A Crown - Maxillary Lateral Incisor

The ultimate desire when restoring an anterior tooth is aesthetics. Dentists often find themselves culprit for overemphasizing this aspect and in the process tend to loose the balance that needs to be maintained with the biological and the mechanical principles of tooth preparation. over prepared anterior teeth often are at risk of catastrophic fracture, owing to the angular nature of functional forces in this segment. The question one should ask is; what good is an aesthetic prosthesis, if it does not survive the test of time? Conversely, inadequate tooth reduction can result in compromised aesthetics and often chronic gingival inflammation owing to the overhanging margin. Lipstick stains on upper anterior crowns often indicate an under-reduced tooth or an over-contoured prosthesis. For beginners, it is advisable to fabricate a pretreatment index using putty (A or C-Silicone) extending over the tooth to be prepared and at least one adjacent tooth on either side.