Fracture resistance of root filled teeth with different obturating materials – An ex vivo evaluation

Abstract

Objectives – This study was undertaken to compare the fracture resistance of root filled teeth with four different obturating materials. Study design : Fifty freshly extracted human maxillary central incisor teeth with similar dimension were selected . Crowns were sectioned at the cementoenamel junction, and the length of the roots were adjusted to 13 mm. Following the preparation of the root canals and final irrigation with EDTA and saline, 15 root canals in group I were filled with Resilon cones and Epiphany sealer, 15 root canals in group II were filled with Gutta-percha and AH Plus, 15 root canals in group III were filled with Gutta-percha and Tubliseal Sealer and 15 root canals were filled with Gutta-percha and Sealapex Sealer. All materials were used with a cold lateral condensation technique. Tests for fracture strength were performed using a universal testing machine and a round tip that had a diameter of 4 mm. The force was applied vertically with a constant speed of 1 mm/min. For each root, the force at the time of fracture was recorded in Newtons. Results were evaluated statistically with ANOVA and Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) tests. Results : The mean force of fracture values was 738.15N,650.82N,575.39N and 551.41N for groups I,II,III and IV respectively. There was a significant difference (p<0.01) between the groups. Group I showed the highest fracture resistance as compared to group II and group III and group IV showed similar result. Conclusions: It was concluded that Resilon and Epiphany combination showed the highest fracture resistance followed by Gutta percha and AH Plus . Gutta percha and Tubliseal & Gutta percha and Sealapex showed the similar strength.