Fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth restored with various esthetic posts

BACKGROUND: Dental esthetic materials are constantly introduced to meet the increasing esthetic demand in contemporary dental practice. OBJECTIVE: To test the fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth (ETT) restored with different esthetic post materials like fiber-reinforced composite post (FRC), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and polymer infiltrated ceramic (PIC). METHODS: Thirty-six human root canal treated single-rooted premolar teeth were decoronated 3 mm above the cementoenamel junction and prepared to receive the post. They were randomly divided into three groups (n = 12) to be restored with FRC, PEEK, and PIC. After appropriate surface treatment, they were cemented with self-adhesive luting cement and restored with full veneer crowns. The samples were thermocycled, subjected to a compressive static load at 45 degrees angulation until fracture. Obtained data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD post hoc comparison test. RESULTS: The results indicate that the ETT restored with PEEK post had the maximum fracture load (1929.94 N), followed by PIC endodontic post group (1810.65N), and FRC post (1715.68N). Meanwhile, ETT restored with FRC showed a predominantly favorable fracture, whereas PEEK restored teeth had a more unfavorable fracture. CONCLUSION: Of all the esthetic post materials, the group for which PEEK endodontic post was used displayed higher fracture resistance.