Stabilizing periodontally compromised teeth with fiber-reinforced composite resin.

or those patients with moderate-tosevere periodontal disease, tooth mobility can contribute to discomfort when eating and decreased masticatory and occlusal function. Tarnow and Fletcher described the indications and contraindications for splinting periodontally involved teeth.1 They stated that the rationale for splinting teeth should include the severity of periodontal disease as determined by the amount of radiographic bone loss and/or the measured tooth mobility. The literature indicates that the main reasons to reduce tooth mobility with periodontal splinting are (1) primary occlusal trauma, (2) secondary occlusal trauma, and (3) progressive mobility, migration, and pain on function.1 Primary occlusal trauma is defined as injury resulting from excessive occlusal forces applied to a tooth or teeth with normal periodontal support, while secondary occlusal trauma is injury resulting from normal occlusal forces applied to a tooth or teeth with inadequate periodontal support.2 In the past, the splinting of periodontally compromised teeth was contentious. The presumption was that splinting to control tooth mobility was required to control gingival inflammation, periodontitis, and pocket formation. It was assumed that mobility had a direct relationship to attachment loss and formation of vertical osseous defects. Another assumption was that increasing tooth mobility was a direct consequence of traumatic occlusion,