Evaluation of the adhesion of fiber posts cemented using different adhesive approaches

The aim of this study was to investigate the adhesion of fiber posts cemented with luting agents that utilize three currently available adhesive approaches: etch-and-rinse, self-etch, and self-adhesive. Forty-two intact single-rooted human premolars were used in the study. Teeth were divided into six groups. In each group, a different resin cement with its adhesive system (if needed) and a fiber post were used. The groups were classified, according to the adhesive approach, into the following three categories. (i) Etch-and-rinse groups: Calibra resin cement/XPBond adhesive + self-curing activator (SCA)/RadiX Fiber Post (Dentsply Caulk), FluoroCore 2 core build-up material/XPBond + SCA/RadiX Fiber Post (Dentsply Caulk), and MultiCore Flow luting and core build-up material/Excite DSC adhesive/FRC Postec Plus fiber post (Ivoclar Vivadent). (ii) Self-etch group: Panavia F 2.0/ED primer (Kuraray)/RadiX Fiber Post (Dentsply Caulk). (iii) Self-adhesive groups: experimental self-adhesive cement/RadiX Fiber Post (Dentsply Caulk), and RelyX Unicem/RelyX Fiber Post (3M ESPE). The adhesion between the post and the root canal walls was assessed using the 'thin-slice' push-out test. In the test arrangement used, the self-etching approach may offer less favourable adhesion to root canal dentin in comparison with etch-and-rinse and self-adhesive approaches.