Anchoring the Crown: Omega Loop Post for Strip Crown Reconstruction in Severe Early Childhood Caries: A Case Report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35790/vxb3ra34Keywords:
intracanal post; omega loop; severe early childhood caries; strip crownAbstract
Abstract: Severe early childhood caries can leave insufficient tooth structure to retain restorations of primary anterior teeth. This case describes the use of omega-loop posts for intracanal retention of composite resin strip crowns following pulpectomy. We reported a 3-year-old girl presented with extensive carious destruction of the maxillary anterior teeth and fracture of one tooth after a fall. Clinical and radiographic examinations revealed pulp necrosis in both maxillary primary central incisors. Both teeth underwent pulpectomy, followed by omega-loop post placement and strip crown reconstruction to restore form, aesthetics, and function. The technique involved simple chairside fabrication and limited treatment time, supporting restoration despite substantial loss of coronal tooth structure. All procedures were performed chairside without general anaesthesia through brief, staged visits with age-appropriate behavioral guidance. At approximately three months after rehabilitation, all crowns were clinically satisfactory. At the latest follow-up, 10 months after restoration of tooth 51 and 8 months after restoration of tooth 61, both omega-loop-supported crowns remained intact and adequately retained, without clinically detectable mobility, gingival swelling, abscess, or recurrent caries. In conclusion, omega-loop-supported crowns maintained satisfactory short-term retention despite extensive coronal loss. This case supports clinical feasibility but cannot establish long-term durability or superiority over other post systems.
Keywords: intracanal post; omega loop; severe early childhood caries; strip crown
References
1. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Policy on early childhood caries (ECC): consequences and preventive strategies. The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, IL: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2025. p. 96–100. Available from: https://www.aapd.org/research/oral-health-policies--recommendations/early-childhood-caries-classifications-consequences-and-preventive-strategies/
2. Uribe SE, Innes N, Maldupa I. The global prevalence of early childhood caries: a systematic review with meta-analysis using the WHO diagnostic criteria. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2021;31(6):817–30. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ipd.12783
3. Maklennan A, Borg-Bartolo R, Wierichs RJ, Esteves-Oliveira M, Campus G. A systematic review and meta-analysis on early-childhood-caries global data. BMC Oral Health. 2024;24(1):835. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04605-y
4. Hasan F, Yuliana LT, Budi HS, Ramasamy R, Ambiya ZI, Ghaisani AM. Prevalence of dental caries among children in Indonesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Heliyon. 2024;10(11):e32102. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32102
5. Sofian MA, Setiawan AS, Hamdani AM, Pratidina NB, Suwargiani AA. Prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) in children aged 2–6 years in the highlands and lowlands of West Java. Clin Cosmet Investig Dent. 2025;17:77–83. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/CCIDE.S467318
6. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Pulp therapy for primary and immature permanent teeth. The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, IL: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2025. p. 487–96. Available from: https://www.aapd.org/research/oral-health-policies--recommendations/pulp-therapy-for-primary-and-immature-permanent-teeth/
7. Mittal N, Bhatia HP, Haider K. Methods of intracanal reinforcement in primary anterior teeth: assessing the outcomes through a systematic literature review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2015;8(1):48–54. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1282
8. Nilavarasan N, Hemalatha R, Vijayakumar R, Hariharan VS. Comparison of compressive strength among three different intracanal post materials in primary anterior teeth: an in vitro study. Eur J Dent. 2016;10(4):464–8. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/1305-7456.195181
9. Arora R, Raiyani CM, Singh V, Katageri AA. Postendodontic restoration of severely decayed primary tooth using modified omega loop as a post. J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2016;7(1):107–9. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.175107
10. Amend S, Boutsiouki C, Bekes K, Kloukos D, Gizani S, Lygidakis NN, et al. Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious lesions in pulp treated primary teeth: a systematic review. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2022;23(5):761–76. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-022-00744-4
11. Oliveira RC, Garbim JR, Passaro AL, Tedesco TK, Raggio DP. Restorative strategies for deciduous anterior teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Evid Based Dent. 2025;26(3):149. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-025-01144-5
12. Grewal N, Jha S, Kaur N. Clinical and radiographic success of resin-bonded strip crowns in primary incisors with varying extents of sound tooth structure available for bonding. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2021;14(4):454–61. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1984
13. Martin AG, Shivashakarappa PG, Arumugam S, Sundaramurthy N. Posts in primary teeth-past to present: a review of literature. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2021;14(5):705–10. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10005-2034
14. Elheeny AAH, Sermani DI. Prefabricated zirconia crown versus resin-bonded composite strip crown in the restoration of primary incisors: a 36-month parallel randomized controlled trial. Pediatr Dent J. 2024;34(1):19–26. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdj.2023.12.004
15. Anil S, Anand PS. Early childhood caries: prevalence, risk factors, and prevention. Front Pediatr. 2017;5:157. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2017.00157
16. Tinanoff N, Baez RJ, Diaz Guillory C, Donly KJ, Feldens CA, McGrath C, et al. Early childhood caries epidemiology, aetiology, risk assessment, societal burden, management, education, and policy: global perspective. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2019;29(3):238–48. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ipd.12484
17. Custódio NB, Schardosim LR, Piovesan CP, Hochscheidt L, Goettems ML. Maternal perception of the impact of anterior caries and its treatment on children: a qualitative study. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2019;29(5):642–9. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ipd.12501
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Benita A. Caesar, Willyanti Soewondo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
COPYRIGHT
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors hold their copyright and grant this journal the privilege of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that permits others to impart the work with an acknowledgment of the work's origin and initial publication by this journal.
Authors can enter into separate or additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (for example, post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its underlying publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (for example, in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
















