Fracture strength of endodontically treated premolars: An In-vitro evaluation.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to measure the invitro fracture strength of endodontically treated maxillary premolars restored with silver amalgam, composite resins and bonded amalgam.


METHODS
Sixty mature maxillary premolars free of caries, restoration or fracture extracted for orthodontic purpose or periodontal reasons were selected. The teeth were randomly divided into six groups of 10 teeth each. Group I: Intact teeth, Group II: Access opening only, Group III: Standard MOD cavity preparation + superimposed endodontic access (Unrestored). In Group IV, Group V & Group VI preparation was done as in Group III and they were restored with amalgam, bonded amalgam and composite resins respectively. All the teeth were thermo cycled and were mounted on custom made rings and the fracture strength was calculated with an Instron testing machine and the results were analysed statistically.


RESULTS
Group I showed the highest fracture resistance followed by Group II . The difference in the values between the two groups were not significant. Group III showed the lowest fracture resistance the decrease in fracture strength was highly statistically significant when compared to all other groups investigated in the present study. Fracture strength of teeth restored with Group IV, Group V, Group VI did not differ significantly from each other.


CONCLUSIONS
Fracture strength of intact natural teeth was superior to all the teeth tested in the study. Fracture strength of endodontically treated teeth restored with conventional amalgam, bonded amalgam and composite resin did not differ significantly from each other. Bonding of restorations to tooth structure has failed to bring about any improvement in the strength of the teeth tested. How to cite this article: Pradeep PR, Kumar VC, Bantwal SR, Gulati GS. Fracture strength of endodontically treated premolars: An In-vitro evaluation. J Int Oral Health 2013; 5(6):9-17 .
Department of Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, M R Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Pr
P
Pradeep
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodonics, Bhabha College of Dental Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Vc Sunil
VS
Kumar
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodonics, R K D F Dental College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Sunil Rao
SR
Bantwal
Department of Conservative Dentistry & Endodonics, Bhabha College of Dental Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Gurinderjeet Singh
GS
Gulati
Amalgam restoration; bonded amalgam restoration; bonding agent; composite resin restoration; fracture resistance