Evaluation of Fracture Resistance of Endodontically Treated Teeth Filled with Gutta-Percha and Resilon Obturating Material: An In Vitro Study

BACKGROUND As per many studies endodontically treated teeth are widely considered to be more susceptible to fracture than vital teeth. Obturation strains and post placement have been a major cause of vertical root fracture. Present study was conducted to compare in vitro fracture resistance after filling with either Gutta-percha or Resilon by lateral condensation techniques in root canals. This study evaluated a new thermoplastic synthetic polymer based on polyester, which contains bioactive and radiopaque filler, Resilon performs every way as Gutta-percha except that it allows the bonding agent to attach to the resin core and the dentin wall thus forming a monoblock. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the present study 90 freshly extracted single-rooted human mandibular premolar teeth endodontically treated, were cut at the cemento-enamel junction, and were randomly divided into three groups of 30 each as teeth of Group A (Control) received no obturation, Group B teeth were obturated using Gutta-percha/AH26, and Group C teeth were obturated using Resilon/Epiphany obturating kit. Each specimen were mounted in acrylic in a polyvinyl ring and then tested for fracture resistance with the help of an universal testing machine. A compressive force was applied until the root is fractured. The data were subjected to analysis of variance for comparing mean difference of fracture resistance among three groups. Multiple comparisons among these groups were carried out by non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis analysis. A p value of <0.0001 was considered a statistically significant difference. RESULTS The results obtain after analysis showed no significant differences in the fracture resistance between the two tested groups of endodontic sealers. CONCLUSION Within the limitation of the present in-vitro study, Resilon/Epiphany sealer performs better than Gutta-percha/AH 26 sealer with lateral condensation technique.