An in Vitro Investigation of Acid Etching Treatment Prior to Post and Core Cementation and Teeth Fracture Resistance

In order to investigate how to enhance the teeth fracture resistance after the post and core treatment, an in vitro study was conducted to measure the fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth restored with cast post and core with two kinds of surface treatment technology and acid etching preparation on the dentinal surface. Sixty-four recently extracted human single-rooted first premolars were endodontically treated and sectioned approximately 1.5 mm above the cementoenamel junction to remove the coronal portion. Each specimen received a cast post, core build-up and a metal alloy crown restoration. All teeth were randomly divided into the smooth surface post, core repair group, the sand blasting surface post, and core repair group, each group was divided into 10 s, 30 s, 60 s acid corrosion treatment group and control group. In acid test groups, an acid etching solution was applied for 10, 30 and 60 seconds, respectively, to the root canal wall surface. Each specimen was embedded in acrylic resin block and tested in an electronic universal testing machine. Fracture loads results showed that canal acid etching could increase teeth fracture resistance strength both in smooth groups and sandblasting group, and achieved the best effect when acid etching for 30 s. Sand spray treatment on the surface of the cast metal post can improve the flexural strength of the teeth after post-crown restoration. Acid etching on the root canal wall surfaces and sand spray treatment on the surface of the cast metal post can improve the flexural strength of the root after post-crown restoration. Therefore, these two methods could be used to strengthen the tooth fracture resistance, and maintain the long-term therapeutic effect of cast post and core restoration.