Microleakage and fracture patterns of teeth restored with different posts under dynamic loading

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Restorative Dentistry
• Endodontics

Background:

• Microleakage in endodontically treated teeth restored with posts and cores is a significant concern.
• Existing research lacks studies on microleakage under dynamic loading with simultaneous dye penetration, a clinically relevant scenario.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare microleakage in endodontically treated teeth restored with different post systems under dynamic loading.
• To classify fracture patterns associated with various post systems under dynamic loading.

Main Methods:

• 40 endodontically treated human mandibular incisors were restored with cast posts, prefabricated metal posts (ParaPost), fiber-reinforced composite resin posts (FRC Postec), or ceramic posts (Cosmopost).
• Teeth were subjected to 50,000 cycles of intermittent loading (98 N at 1 Hz) while immersed in a basic fuchsin solution.
• Microleakage was quantified using image analysis, and fracture patterns were classified.

Main Results:

• The cast post group exhibited significantly higher microleakage compared to other groups (P=.001).
• Fiber-reinforced composite resin posts (FRC Postec) and ceramic posts (Cosmopost) demonstrated fracture patterns conducive to retreatment.
• No significant differences were found in the number of loading cycles to failure among the groups (P=.161).

Conclusions:

• Fiber-reinforced composite resin posts (FRC Postec) and ceramic posts (Cosmopost) offer reduced microleakage under dynamic loading.
• These post systems present fracture patterns that facilitate retreatment of fractured specimens, indicating favorable clinical outcomes.