Influence of post placement in the fracture resistance of endodontically treated incisors veneered with direct composite

Statement of problem. Veneer preparations are considered to weaken endodont ically treated maxillary incisors. Prefabricated posts hale been controvers ially indicated to reinforce endodontically treated teeth before final rest oration. Purpose. This in vitro study evaluated whether (1)veneer preparation in ena mel or in enamel/dentin weakens endodontically treated maxillary incisors, (2) bonding of direct composite veneer restores the original strength of th e unprepared teeth, and (3) use of prefabricated metal posts increases frac ture resistance of prepared and restored teeth. Material and methods. Ninety extracted human maxillary central incisors wer e submitted to conventional root canal treatment. Specimens were randomly d ivided into 8 experimental groups (veneer preparation in enamel or dentin w ith/without post and with/without direct composite veneer restoration) and a control group (n = 10). Specimens were loaded to fracture, and the data w ere analyzed statistically Results. Statistical analysis revealed that a conservative veneer preparati on does not significantly reduce maxillary incisors' fracture resistance. F or prepared incisors, bonding of direct composite veneer restored their ori ginal strength, and the use of posts did not increase their fracture resist ance. Conclusion. Conservative veneer preparations involving enamel and enamel/de ntin did not significantly reduce the fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary incisors. In addition, restoration of the intraenamel pr eparations with direct composite resulted in teeth more resistant to fractu re than teeth having restorations in dentin. The use of posts did not impro ve fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary incisors reduced and veneered with direct composite.