Fracture resistance of cementum-extended composite fillings in severely damaged deciduous incisors: An in vitro study

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to comparatively assess the fracture resistance of the cementum-extended and conventional composite fillings with or without intracanal composite posts in severely damaged deciduous incisors. MATERIALS AND METHODS This in vitro study was performed on 60 extracted deciduous maxillary incisors that were randomly divided into four groups: Group 1: Composite filling (CF); Group 2: Composite filling with composite posts (CF + CP); Group 3: Composite filling extended 0.5 mm to cementum (ceCF); Group 4: Composite filling extended 0.5 mm to cementum with composite posts (ceCF + CP). The fracture resistance was assessed by exerting a progressively increasing load with a cross-head speed of 0.5 mm/min in a Universal Testing Machine. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Data were analyzed by SPSS-18 using one-way analysis of variance at α < 0.05. RESULTS The mean fracture resistance (MFR) values of the experimental groups were 410.57 ± 139.44 N, 564.44 ± 92.63 N, 507.5 ± 76.37 N and 601.08 ± 96.04 N. A significant difference was found between the MFR of Groups 1 and 2, Groups 1 and 4 and Groups 3 and 4 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION A superior outcome was achieved by intracanal composite posts in both conventional and cementum-extended composite fillings.