ABSTRACT
Before the acid-etch retention system, composite resin restorative materials and efficient, simple pin retention systems were developed, crowns were the only way of restoring many teeth that can now be restored by these other means. At the same time, more patients are keeping more of their teeth for longer and are expecting faulty teeth to be repaired rather than extracted. Therefore, although there are fewer indications for crowning teeth than there were, more teeth are actually being crowned than ever before. About two million crowns per year are made in the UK National Health Service, representing 2-3 crowns per week per dentist. This figure has more than doubled between 1980 and 1990. Similar increases have occurred in most Western countries.
