Partially Coverage Restoration: An Esthetically Conservative Treatment for a Complex Cavity Restoration

Dental materials have been continuously developing over a long period of time. Every effort has been made to develop the physical and mechanical properties of the materials to mimic the natural tooth substances. However, that has not yet been achieved, making it necessary to apply conservative dental treatments. Conservative treatments are procedures which minimize the amount of defective tooth structure removed while maximizing the remaining amount of intact tooth structure, and defining the margin of the restoration at the supragingival level. In a substantially destructed tooth, the direct restoration, which is the most conservative restoration, has the limitations on the retention or creation of the proper contour of the restoration. The indirectly partial coverage restoration has recently gained in popularity. This treatment preserves the tooth structure while allowing reconstruction of the destructed structure to enable correct and proper tooth functioning and also provides a satisfactory cosmetic appearance. The purpose of this paper is to review and compare the various conservative techniques of partial coverage restorations and the full coverage treatment with crowns.