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The aim of the present study of a student-treated patient material was to follow-up extensive amalgam fillings retained with Dentatus® screwposts or stainless steel pins, because some authors have claimed that these methods may give rise to corrosion and subsequent root fracture. During the years 1963-7 2 Dentatus screwposts had been inserted in 73 endodontically treated teeth which, over a period of 5 years, had been examined once a year. During the same period 78 Unitec® stainless steel pins were inserted parapulpally in 43 teeth. Average observation time for teeth with screwposts or pins was around 4 ½ years. The clinical investigation which followed written standards concerned 7 subjective and 10 objective symptoms, and the radiographic investigation, based on a minimum of 4 projections for each tooth, included 7 criteria. Neither the clinical nor the radiographic investigations showed direct or indirect signs of corrosion or its sequelae. Changes giving rise to suspicion could in all cases be traced back to causes other than corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]