Fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth restored with glass fiber reinforced posts and cast gold post and cores cemented with three cements.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Dental fractures can occur in endodontically treated teeth restored with glass fiber reinforced posts and cast gold posts.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to record the fracture strength of endodontically treated teeth restored with glass fiber reinforced or cast gold post and cores cemented with 3 cements.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-two single-rooted premolars with standardized weakened roots were endodontically treated and allocated to 6 experimental groups (n=7) defined by the 2 factors investigated: post system and cement. Three groups were restored with glass fiber posts and resin-modified glass ionomer cement, dual-polymerizing resin cement, or chemically active autopolymerizing resin cement. The other 3 groups were restored with cast gold post and cores and the same 3 cements. The cores of the glass fiber post groups were fabricated with composite resin core material. Metal crowns were cemented on the cores in the 6 groups. The entire system was subjected to continuous compression in a universal testing machine, and fracture limit and location (cervical third, middle third, or apical third) were noted. Two-way ANOVA and the Scheffé test were used to analyze the data and compare the groups (α=.05).

RESULTS: Two-way ANOVA showed significant differences in the post type (P<.001) and the cements (P<.001). The interaction between them (P<.001) was statistically significant in the fracture resistance of the endodontically treated teeth. The greatest interaction between post and cement was the glass fiber post with resin-modified glass ionomer cement, followed by the cast gold post and core with resin-modified glass ionomer cement.

CONCLUSIONS: The use of a glass fiber reinforced post and resin-modified glass ionomer cement increased the fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth.