Mutilated teeth are grossly weakened and badly broken-down teeth where the remaining tooth structure is less than the amount of tooth loss. Mutilation of teeth can occur due to long-standing caries, over-zealous preparation, and traumatic fracture of the tooth. These teeth require a meticulous approach in every phase of treatment from diagnosis to planning and execution.
The restoration of badly mutilated teeth has been widely investigated and there is abundant current literature with a broad range of clinical outcome studies. However, there is a scarcity of high-quality clinical outcome data. Additionally, much of the available evidence is outdated, applies to only specific situations, or is confounded by significant variables, making interpretation of the results problematic. It is not surprising that dentists are varying in the restorative decision-making process regarding treatment protocols.