Evaluation of fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth restored with prefabricated posts and composites with varying quantities of remaining coronal tooth structure.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of remaining coronal tooth structure on endodontically treated teeth restored with prefabricated posts and two different composites for core build-up: dual-cured resin (Enforce Core) and light-cured resin (Z-250).

Methods: Fourty freshly extracted canines were endodontically treated and divided into four groups: Group I - teeth with 3mm remaining coronal structure, restored with Enforce Core; Group II - teeth with 3mm remaining coronal structure, restored with Z-250; Group III - teeth with no remaining coronal structure, restored with Enforce; Group IV - teeth with no remaining coronal structure, restored with Z-250. After restoration, the teeth were embedded in acrylic resin and the fracture resistance was measured on a universal testing machine at 45 degrees to the long axis of the tooth until failure.

Results: Data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance, which showed significant differences between groups (p=0.00). The Tukey test did not show significant differences between specimens with and without remaining coronal structure. Conversely, significant difference was observed between groups with different core build-up. The highest values of fracture resistance were found in the group restored with light-cured resin.

Significance: The remaining coronal tooth structure did not influence the resistance of endodontically treated teeth; however, the change of core build-up was able to modify this resistence.