In Vitro Evaluation of the Effect of Tooth Structure Loss on Fracture Resistance of Endodontically Treated Teeth

Introduction: Since preserving the structure of treated teeth is a critical success factor, studying the effects of tooth structure loss on fracture resistance of the tooth tissue appears necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the consequences of the loss of different tissues regarding fracture resistance of teeth undergoing root canal treatment without the use of indirect restorations. Methods :In this experimental study, 70 healthy maxillary first premolar teeth were randomly divided into 7 groups of 10 members, including control group, endodontic access preparation only, MOD cavity preparation, cutting buccal cusp, cutting palatal cusp, cutting buccal cusp and marginal ridge, and cutting the palatal cusp and marginal ridge. The coronal section of teeth was restored incrementally with light cure composite. Finally, samples underwent compressive load with 45˚ angle from each cusp slope in the middle of cusp with an instant speed of 1 mm per min in the Instron machine. Fracture resistance was measured and samples were examined under stereo-microscope to evaluate the mode of failure. Results: The resistance to fracture in root canal treated teeth in different groups in order from first to seventh was 797.13 ± 52.92, 722.50 ± 131.40, 432.15 ± 203.20, 592.66 ± 195.86 124.53 ± 33.09, 85.17 ± 18.45, and 26.03 ± 5.21 Newton. ANOVA test showed statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of their fracture resistance (P = 0.000). Conclusions: The results showed that fracture resistance levels of teeth were significantly affected by amount of their tissue loss. In this study, removal of teeth palatal cusp and marginal ridge had a significant effect on decreasing the fracture resistance, while removing the buccal cusps alone cannot have a significant effect.