Rigidity and retention of root canal posts.
OBJECTIVE
To test the rigidity and the retention into roots of parallel root canal posts, one a spiral vented titanium post and the other a spiral serrated, hollow, stainless steel post. A serrated, stainless steel post was used as the control.


METHODS
A three-point bending test was used to test rigidity. To test retention, ten posts of each type were cemented into the roots of extracted teeth with a resin cement and the tensile loads required to remove them were compared using Student's t and Mann-Whitney U tests.


RESULTS
The serrated stainless steel posts were significantly more rigid than either of the other types. The titanium posts and the stainless steel hollow posts were not significantly different in rigidity. The serrated, stainless steel posts were significantly better retained than either of the other types. The titanium posts showed greater retention than the hollow posts.


CONCLUSIONS
Within the limits of the study the stainless steel, serrated posts were superior to the two newer types in terms of rigidity and retention into roots.
Purton
D G
DG
Department of Oral Rehabilitation, University of Otago School of Dentistry, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Chandler
N P
NP
Love
R M
RM
D002484:Cementation; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D017268:Dental Prosthesis Retention; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D006801:Humans; D018583:Pliability; D011176:Post and Core Technique / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019279:Resin Cements; D012390:Root Canal Therapy; D013193:Stainless Steel; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength; D014025:Titanium; D014092:Tooth Root
D019279:Resin Cements; D013193:Stainless Steel; D014025:Titanium