A comparative evaluation of fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth restored with different post core systems - an in-vitro study

PURPOSE: To compare the fracture resistance and the mode of failure of endodontically treated teeth restored with different post-core systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Root canal treatment was performed on 40 maxillary incisors and the samples were divided into four groups of 10 each. For three experimental groups post space preparation was done and teeth were restored with cast post-core (Group B), stainless steel post with composite core (Group C) and glass fiber post with composite core using adhesive resin cement (Group D). Control group (A) samples were selected with intact coronal structure. All the samples were prepared for ideal abutment preparation. All the samples were subjected to a load of 0.5 mm/min at 130° until fracture occurred using the universal testing machine. The fracture resistance was measured and the data were analyzed statistically. The fracture above the embedded resin was considered to be favorable and the fracture below the level was considered as unfavorable. The statistical analysis of fracture resistance between different groups was carried out with t-test. For the mode of failure the statistical analysis was carried out by Kruskal-Wallis test and Chi-Square test. RESULTS: For experimental group Vs control group the fracture resistance values showed significant differences (P<.05). For the mode of failure the chi-square value is 16.1610, which means highly significant (P=.0009) statistically. CONCLUSION: Endodontically treated teeth without post core system showed the least fracture resistance demonstrating the need to reinforce the tooth. Stainless steel post with composite core showed the highest fracture resistance among all the experimental groups. Teeth restored with the Glass fiber post showed the most favorable fractures making them more amenable to the re-treatment.