Endodontics Resident University of Texas at Houston League City, Texas
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Aim: To determine the fracture resistance of immature teeth reinforced with a multiple micro-post glass fiber system compared to traditional single fiber post reinforcement.
Methods: 20 immature bovine teeth were sectioned 8 mm above and 12 mm below the facial CEJ. One group was left unprepared as negative control (NC, n=5). The remaining teeth were prepared to a mesial-distal wall thickness of 1-1.5 mm. CBCT scans were taken to measure dentin thickness at the level of the facial CEJ. The experimental teeth had 5 mm apical plugs placed with Cavit, then were randomly placed into three groups based on restorative technique: 1) GP placed to CEJ and composite (GP, n=5), 2) Fiber post (RelyX; 1.2mm) and composite (RX, n=5), 3) Multi micro-post glass fiber system (Biolight) with dual cure resin (BL, n=5). All teeth were mounted in acrylic resin 2 mm apical to CEJ and were thermocycled between 5°C and 55°C for 500 cycles. Fracture resistance was performed using a universal testing machine with a cross-head speed of 0.5 mm/min placed on incisal edge at a 30° angle. The results were analyzed with ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc (p < 0.05).
Results: The mean fracture resistance was: NC = 631N, GP = 438N, RX = 447, BL = 503N with no statistical significance between groups.
Conclusion: There was a trend towards teeth reinforced with the Biolight post system having a higher fracture resistance, however the results were not statistically significant. These results indicate that either post system may be adequate for strengthening immature teeth.