An in vitro study of coronal microleakage in endodontically-treated teeth restored with posts

Coronal microleakage has received considerable attention as a factor related to failure of endodontic treatment and much emphasis is placed on the quality of the final restoration. Posts are frequently used for the retention of coronal restorations. These can be custom-made or prefabricated. Many authors have examined coronal microleakage with respect to gutta-percha root fillings and plastic coronal restorations, but few have investigated the coronal seal afforded by various post systems. The seal provided by a cemented post depends on the seal of the cement used. The purpose of this study was to compare coronal microleakage around cast and prefabricated posts using a dye-penetration method. Sixty extracted single-rooted human teeth were chemomechanically prepared. The root canals were filled with gutta-percha and sealer and they were then prepared for standard posts. Six groups, each of 10 teeth, were restored with either cast post or prefrabricated post. The posts were cemented with either glass ionomer cement (GIC), Variolink II or Durelon. The teeth were thermocycled and placed in Indian ink for one week. They were then demineralised and rendered transparent. Linear coronal dye penetration around the post was measured and compared. The least dye-penetration was observed in roots restored with a cast post and Variolink II. Dentatus posts demonstrated the most microleakage. It appears that the dentine-bonding cements have less microleakage than the traditional, non-dentine-bonding cements and adaptation of the post with the canal may be more important than the cement used.