Carbon Fibre Posts
From: "J.M. Whitworth"
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 10:18 PM
Subject:Carbon fibre posts

Does anyone have experience of removing carbon fibre posts, cemented
with a resin?

Invisible on X-xay, I was caught out this afternoon.
The crown has to come off to visualise them better of course,
but any other tips? Do they absorb ultrasonic energy, or shake out
nicely like metal ones? Do they drill out safely?
Any tips gratefully received, - Dr John Whitworth

you need magnification and a nice thin long diamond and you have to go very
carefully.

If you can visualize it you will not have problems. Being black they are
easily identified from the tooth structure
Peppino Riccardi

Depending on the type of post (Bisco posts do this), a peeso drill usually
can channel through it and maintain alignment in the canal till you reach
gutta percha.

 I don't think ultrasonic energy will be too good and you cannot pull them.
The problem is if it's one of those posts with the crystalline structure like
diamond ( I forget the name of them). May as well do surgery or pull the
tooth! -      Rob Roda

Dear John,

I would begin with a narrow, rounded-end tapered cylinder diamond. If you do
choose to go through the crown, you won't miss the black froth when you find
the post. The diamond cuts it easily, but is best used to align yourself
down the middle. Then you could switch to even faster, cleaner cutting
carbides, though I often prefer the tactile sense of the diamonds.

Darick Nordstrom, DDS

carbon fiber posts are very easy to remove.  remove any resin covering the
top of the post and then use a gates glidden bur in increasing size to ream
out the post till you reach the dentin. the material the post is made of
(also applies to fiber posts) easily strips out. ceramic posts on the other
hand are extremely hard to get out if they fracture low to the crest.

Gregori Kurtzman, DDS, MAGD, FICOI, MIPS/ICOI

you need magnification and a nice thin long diamond and you have to go very carefully.

 If you can visualize it you will not have problems. Being black they are
 easily identified from the tooth structure -  Peppino Riccardi

 gates glidden is less likely to perforate the tooth verses using a diamond.

Gregori Kurtzman

You may use tungsten LN burs manufactured by Maillefer or agate that is cut to half
by carborundum disk so it surface becomes like a star..

Ceramic posts should be banned and recalled!

I inherited a broken one and lucked-out, but wonder how many, in the process
of breaking, put enough stress into the root to initiate a deadly fracture.

The smooth-sided ceramic posts can possibly be removed by using a very fine
long diamond circumferentially to trough and parallel the tapered shape, then
small extractor-type "hole saw" to extend, then tube extractor with super glue,
then rotate or connect to Densco "tapper" (very risky). This may not work with
ceramic posts that have been etched, etc. to enhance bonding.

The diamond-sided ultrasonic tips will generally do very little to the post,
but furrow alongside. The narrow titanium endo tips might impart enough energy
(after the troughing process) to weaken some cements. Fortunately, it has been
found that many of the dentin bonding cements don't, but if the canal is not
perfectly tapered, the removal force (if post is removed with cement on) is
likely to split the tooth. -  darick

One thing I forgot to mention was the use of the original fiber post kit
reamers as an option if complete removal is desired since they are slightly
end-cutting unlike the peesos, and usually self-align once you get started.
The diamonds I mentioned (medium -medium fine) tend to be safer because they
bog down slightly if you get outside the composite fiber. - Darick