Comparative evaluation of impact strength of natural tooth and two different fragment reattachment technique

Abstract

Background: The reattached fragments are prone to re-fracture if another traumatic episode occurs or under non-physiological use of the restored teeth. There is a scarcity of literature regarding the management of uncomplicated crown fracture reattachment following a further fracture Therefore, concerns have been directed towards the strength of reattachment of the fractured teeth. Hence the aim of the in-vitro study was to evaluate & compare the impact strength of reattached fragments with composite resin & polyethylene fiber impregnated in composite resin with that of the natural tooth. Methodology: Total samples of 42 teeth were collected and indicated for extraction. They were cleaned ultrasonically and later stored in a 0.9% saline solution. The samples were divided into three groups of 14 samples each. The fracture was induced by disk, only Ellis class II fractured teeth were included in the study. Group 1 (control group) sound tooth: Directly checked for impact strength. Group 2: Reattachment of the fractured fragment using composite resin. Group 3: Reattachment using polyethylene fiber impregnated in composite resin with minimal preparation. All samples were thermocycled between 5°C - 55°C for 500 cycles with 30 seconds dwell time and tested in an ‘impact testing machine’.