Resistance to fracture of endodontically treated teeth restored with different post systems.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Very little is known about the resistance to fracture of endodontically treated teeth restored with newly developed esthetic post systems. Purpose. This in vitro study compared the effect of 1 titanium and 3 esthetic post systems on the fracture resistance and fracture patterns of crowned, endodontically treated teeth. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 40 recently extracted human maxillary canines with their crowns removed were endodontically treated. Four groups of 10 specimens were formed. Teeth were restored with titanium, quartz fiber, glass fiber, and zirconia posts and numbered as groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. All posts were cemented with Single Bond dental adhesive system and dual-polymerizing RelyX ARC adhesive resin cement. All teeth were restored with composite cores, and metal crowns were fabricated and cemented with glass ionomer cement. Each specimen was embedded in acrylic resin and then secured in a universal load-testing machine. A compressive load was applied at a 130-degree angle to the long axis of the tooth until fracture, at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. One-way analysis of variance and a Tukey test were used to determine the significance of the failure loads between groups (P<.001). A non-parametric chi(2) test was conducted for evaluation of the mode of failure (P<.001). RESULTS: The mean failure loads (kg) were 66.95, 91.20, 75.90, and 78.91 for groups 1 to 4, respectively. Teeth restored with quartz fiber posts (group 2) exhibited significantly higher resistance to fracture (P<.001) than the other 3 groups. Teeth restored with glass fiber and zirconia posts (groups 3 and 4) were statistically similar (P>.05). Fractures that would allow repair of the tooth were observed in groups 2 and 3, whereas unrestorable, catastrophic fractures were observed in groups 1 and 4 (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, significantly higher failure loads were recorded for root canal treated teeth restored with quartz fiber posts. Fractures that would allow repeated repair were observed in teeth restored with quartz fiber and glass fiber posts.