The effect of adhesive resin cement, obturation material and root dentin location on the retention of glass fiber-reinforced composite resin posts.

Purpose: To assess the effects of adhesive resin cement, obturation material and dentin location on the retention of glass fiber-reinforced resin composite (FRRC) posts.

Methods: 60 root canals in single rooted teeth were obturated with three different protocols (n= 20), including no obturation material (Control), GuttaFlow and Gutta-percha. Spaces were prepared for glass (FRCR) posts. Subgroups of the roots (n=10) were allocated for receiving posts luted with RelyX Unicem or Calibra resin cements. The specimens were mounted in plastic molds using epoxy resin. They were sectioned transversely to obtain three 1 mm-thick coronal, middle and apical slabs. Post retention was measured using a universal testing machine. The push-out test was performed at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/minute until post dislodgement occurred. Dislodged posts were examined microscopically to evaluate the mode of failure. Data were analyzed using univariate tests to reveal the effects of dependent variables and their interactions on post retention. Tukey test was used to determine significant differences for post retention in obturation material and dentin location groups. P-values ≤ 0.05 were considered significant.

Results: The adhesive resin cement, obturation material, dentin location and cement obturation materials interaction affected post retention. The mean bond strength was higher for posts cemented with RelyX Unicem than for those cemented with Calibra resin cements. Post retention in coronal locations was significantly superior to middle or apical locations. The failure mode was primarily mixed.

Clinical significance: When using RelyX Unicem cement for luting glass fiber-reinforced root canal posts, complete removal of all obturation materials from the post space significantly improves the retention. Although Calibra cement is less technique sensitive than RelyX Unicem resin cement, it produces notably lower retention of fiber-reinforced glass root canal posts.