Abstract
It is generally agreed that the inherent strength of a tooth is dependent on the remaining dentine. It therefore seems logical that preservation of coronal dentine is important to the survival of intra- and extra-coronal restorations. The clinical assessment of the amount of dentine needed for functional requirements and the strategic value of remaining tooth structure is currently based on clinical opinion. This paper discusses what recommendations have been published and proposes an index that may be useful in assessing the restorability of a tooth.