FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOOSENING OF AN ANTERIOR UNITARY CROWN

The single-unit full-coverage crown is a fixed dental appliance that completely restores a severely decayed tooth. In practice, practitioners may encounter at least one occurrence of loosening of this crown. Previous studies indicate a prevalence of 0.55 to 5.5% at 5 years, and that it adversely affects patients\' esthetics. The aim of this study was to describe the loosening of a single-unit total veneer crown in the anterior region. This is a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study conducted the month of January 2015 to the month of January 2020. All patients with a loosened anterior single-unit full-coverage crown who consulted the dentistry department of the Dispensaire Kintana and the Centre de Soins Spécialisés en Odonto-Stomatologie, CHU Mahavoky Atsimo were included in this study. Those who did not wish to be surveyed were excluded. The study comprised 32.6% men and 67.4% women. Forty-three (43) loosened crowns were identified, 46.5% of which occurred less than a year after placement, 37.2% between 1 and 3 years and 11.6% between 4 and 6 years. The associated factors were overbite (62.8%), inappropriate dental preparation (46.5%) and poor choice or handling of bonding materials (37.2%). A significant relationship was found between the occurrence of loosening and overbite and bonding materials, p=0.018. Loose crowns are mainly due to clinical errors. To ensure the success of the prosthesis, prosthetists must be vigilant in pointing out any errors to the practitioner before making the crown.