A novel insertion design of fiber materials for the adhesive reattachment in vertically fractured teeth

OBJECTIVE: This ex vivo study aimed to evaluate the strengthening effect of different ferrule and reattachment designs with fiber and adhesive materials on vertically fractured teeth. METHODS: Ninety extracted single-root premolars were instrumented and divided into nine groups (two control groups and seven experimental groups; n = 10). The negative control (NC) group comprised of intact teeth, while the positive control (PC) group comprised of root canal-treated teeth. The roots of the teeth in the experimental groups were vertically fractured into two equal fragments. The fragments were reattached with one of the followings: 4-methacryloxyethyl trimellitate anhydride/methacrylate-tri-n-butyl borane (4-META/MMA-TBB) resin, 4-META/MMA-TBB + quartz fiber post, 4-META/MMA-TBB + glass fiber bundles, 4-META/MMA-TBB + quartz fiber post + 1 mm ferrule, 4-META/MMA-TBB + glass fiber bundles + 1 mm ferrule, 4-META/MMA-TBB + quartz fiber post + 2 mm ferrule, and 4-META/MMA-TBB + glass fiber bundles + 2 mm ferrule. The core build-ups were made with composite resin. The specimens were subjected to compressive loading until failure occurred. Mean load necessary to fracture each sample and the fracture types of these samples were recorded. RESULTS: The highest mean fracture load was recorded in the NC group (1,036.7 N), which was not significantly higher than the PC group (989.66 N) (p > 0.05). The roots reattached with quartz fiber post demonstrated significantly less fracture strength (871.9 N) as compared to the other test and control groups (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the PC group and reattached fragments with different ferrule designs in terms of fracture resistance (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The customized fiber bundles may be more suitable for reattachment of vertically fractured teeth than the rigid fiber posts. For reattachment procedures, the ferrule design may be preferred to increase the fracture strength of vertically fractured teeth.