Fracture Resistance of Three Post Types in the Restoration of Anterior Primary Teeth

Extensive restorative treatments of anterior primary teeth are challenging in pediatric dentistry.

This study aimed to compare the fracture resistance of three post types for restoring the anterior primary teeth.

This in-vitro study was carried out on 90 extracted maxillary anterior primary teeth with intact roots. They were randomly allocated into six groups to be restored with conventional composite resin post, X-tra fill composite resin post, Tetric N Ceram composite resin post, prefabricated glass fiber post with conventional composite build-up, prefabricated glass fiber post with X-tra fill composite build-up, and prefabricated glass fiber post with Tetric N Ceram composite build up. The samples were polished and placed in acrylic resin blocks with 1 mm of part of cervical root being out, thermocycled (×5000) and tested for fracture resistance. Intra-class correlation test, Kruskal-Wallis test and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analyses (α=0.05).

The mean fracture resistance was significantly different among the six groups. It was the highest in prefabricated glass fiber post with conventional composite build-up (418.64 N), prefabricated glass fiber post with X-tra fill composite build-up (403.63 N) and prefabricated glass fiber post with Tetric N Ceram composite build up (361.63 N); and the lowest in Tetric N Ceram group (280.65 N). The groups were significantly different concerning the fracture strength and fracture state.

Since the anterior teeth restored with prefabricated glass fiber posts were far more fracture resistant, and prefabricated glass fiber posts can be promisingly used for the restoration of anterior primary teeth.