Restorative & Materials · single question
A maxillary premolar fractured (lost a cusp) after root canal therapy. Which of these is NOT typically used to improve retention of the restorative buildup in this scenario?
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Correct answer: D. A post placed in the root canal (not indicated here, since the issue is coronal cusp loss, not insufficient coronal structure overall requiring canal-based retention)
Bonding, slots, and pins are all standard chairside techniques to improve mechanical/adhesive retention of a buildup around a missing cusp. A post is reserved for cases where there is overall insufficient remaining coronal tooth structure to retain a core/crown — using canal space purely to retain a single missing-cusp buildup is generally unnecessary and can needlessly weaken the root.
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