Evaluation of intracanal post removal using ultrasound

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the force necessary to remove pre-fabricated and anatomic and cast posts. Two hundred and forty teeth were divided into two groups. In group I, a 0.8-mm metallic pre-fabricated post, Unimetric-Maillefer, was utilized; in group II, cast copper-aluminum alloy posts measuring 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 mm in diameter were used. The root canals were prepared in three different diameters: 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 mm, with a length of 10 mm. The posts were cemented with glass ionomer cement resulting in 20 specimens for each subgroup. Half of the sample was submitted to ultrasonic vibration for 3 min, while the other half did not receive any vibration. The specimens were submitted to traction in a universal testing machine. The results were analyzed by non-parametric Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The application of ultrasonic vibration significantly reduced the retention provided by the glass ionomer cement in the fixation of intracanal posts. The ultrasonic action was effective in both pre-fabricated and anatomic and cast posts. The effectiveness of the ultrasonic vibration was not related to the cementation line or the diameter of the post.