An attempt was made to review the dental literature since 1970, presen
ting clinical data of posts and core restorations, by the use of a met
a-analytic procedure. Fourteen publications were found that contained
durability data on post and core systems. According to the exclusion c
riteria 11 studies were excluded for further analysis of the data. The
survivals of these studies varied from 98.6% survival after a follow-
up period of more than 10 years (F.S. Weine et al. 1991, J. Endodont.
17, 293-297) to 77.6% survival after a mean follow-up period of 5.2 ye
ars (D.H. Roberts, 1970, Br. Dent. J. 128, 117-124). The data of the t
hree selected studies were reconstructed according to the method of Ka
plan-Meier but could not be combined for an overall survival assessmen
t because the study characteristics were too heterogeneous. Therefore
the survivals were presented separately. The reconstructed survivals o
f the studies after 6 years were 81% survival (standard error 6%) for
resin composite build-ups in combination with screw posts and 91% surv
ival for two studies including cast posts and cores (standard errors r
espectively 3% and 2%). Although it was not meaningful to combine the
data for an overall survival, the meta-analytic method of this study r
evealed homogenic survival data and as such the followed procedure is
considered to be an appropriate method to obtain insights in clinical
durability data.