I spy...how many pins in this tooth?

Take a look at this tooth and tell me how many pins you can count. I had to go back and forth a few times between the two bitewings to get it right, mostly because I was in disbelief at how many there actually were. My next thought was, where and how did all of those pins get placed without the tooth becoming symptomatic? The PFM crown had been in service for almost 15 years, and I was left scratching my head in bewilderment.

I suppose we all have thoughts about this type of clinical scenario. In truth, we all could put forth arguments as to what we would or wouldn’t do and hold our ground with fairly good justification. I guess that’s why dentistry is such a dynamic profession and what makes it—and medicine in general, for that matter—so fluid and fascinating.

Good, bad, or indifferent, there’s no denying that that’s a lot of pins for one tooth. But it’s working, and there’s not much we can argue about that!

Cheers,
Dr. Stacey

P.S. I counted seven pins.

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Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Through the Loupes newsletter, a publication of the Endeavor Business Media Dental Group. Read more articles and subscribe to Through the Loupes.

Stacey L. Gividen, DDS, a graduate of Marquette University School of Dentistry, is in private practice in Hamilton, Montana. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Montana in the Anatomy and Physiology Department. Dr. Gividen is the editorial codirector of Through the Loupes and a contributing author for DentistryIQ, Perio-Implant Advisory, and Dental Economics. She serves on the Dental Economics editorial advisory board. You may contact her at [email protected].