The effect of post length and core material on root fracture with respect to different post materials

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different core materials and post length on the fracture strength of different posts (CAD/CAM zirconia post (ZR post)) and an individually formed glass fiber reinforced composite post (FRC post). Materials and methods. One hundred maxillary central incisors received endodontic treatment and were divided into two groups according to the post length: (1) 10 mm in length and (2) 15 mm in length (n = 50/per group). Then the specimens were randomly assigned into five sub-groups (n = 10/per group) as follows: One-piece milled zirconia post and core (group Zr), zirconia post with resin core (Biscore, Bisco) (group Zr/R), zirconia post with resin composite core (Admira, Voco) (group Zr/RC), FRC post with resin core (group F/R) and FRC post with resin composite core (group F/RC). The posts were cemented with a self-adhesive luting agent according to the manufacturer's instructions by using endo tips and light-cured for 40 s using a halogen light curing unit. Metal crowns were made for each specimen, cemented and loaded to failure. Fracture loads (N) and modes of failure were recorded. The data were analyzed using three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's post-hoc test (p < 0.001). Results. Fracture strength of roots was significantly affected by the type of post material (p < 0.05) and post length (p < 0.05), but not by the type of core materials used (p = 0.078). Conclusion. Longer zirconia posts with zirconia- or resin-based cores can be recommended as an alternative to FRC posts with resin-based cores. The fracture patterns observed in teeth restored with fiber posts were more favorable than teeth restored with zirconia posts. Clinical significance. A higher restoring success rate can be achieved by fiber posts rather than zirconia posts, since the failure mode for these posts would be restorable. Additionally, post length is a more critical factor in teeth restored with one-piece milled zirconia posts than in those restored with fiber posts.

Key Words::

• FRC post
• fracture strength
• post length
• resin core
• zirconia post

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Scientific Research Projects Fund of Gazi University.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.