THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESTORATION AND FURCATION INVOLVEMENT ON MOLAR TEETH

THE PURPOSE OF THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY was to examine the correlati on between the presence of a crown (CR) or a proximal restoration (RE) and furcation involvement (FI) on molar teeth. Data were collected fr om 134 periodontal maintenance patients who had restored and non-resto red molars present both with and without FI. A majority of the restora tions that were present in these patients had been in place for at lea st 5 years prior to the study. First and second molars were examined c linically using the following criteria: CR, RE, FI, mobility (MO), and probing periodontal attachment level (AL). Data were analyzed with a statistical program utilizing Pearson chi-square and the pair-differen ce t test. The results indicated that molars with CR or RE had a signi ficantly (P < 0.01) higher percentage of FI but no greater mobility wh en compared to molars without restorations. Mean probing periodontal a ttachment loss was greater for restored than nonrestored molars but on ly with marginal significance (P = 0.051). There was a greater differe nce in mean AL between restored versus non-restored maxillary molars t han for mandibular molars. This cross-sectional study provides evidenc e that molars with crowns or restorations involving the proximal tooth surfaces had a higher prevalence of FI and greater AL than molars wit hout restorations.