Short clinical crowns (SCC) – treatment considerations and techniques

When the clinical crowns of teeth are dimensionally inadequate, esthetically and biologically acceptable restoration of these dental units is difficult. Often an acceptable restoration cannot be accomplished without first surgically increasing the length of the existing clinical crowns; therefore, successful management requires an understanding of both the dental and periodontal parameters of treatment. The complications presented by teeth with short clinical crowns demand a comprehensive treatment plan and proper sequencing of therapy to ensure a satisfactory result. Visualization of the desired result is a prerequisite of successful therapy. This review examines the periodontal and restorative factors related to restoring teeth with short clinical crowns. Modes of therapy are usually combined to meet the biologic, restorative, and esthetic requirements imposed by short clinical crowns. In this study various methods for treating short clinical crowns are reviewed, the role that restoration margin location play in the maintenance of periodontal and dental symbiosis and the effects of violation of the supracrestal gingivae by improper full-coverage restorations has also been discussed. Key words:Short clinical crown, surgical crown lengthening, forced eruption, diagnostic wax up, alveoloplasty, gingivectomy.