The effect of fiber post location on fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary premolars

Background. There is no sufficient literature on the effect of post location on endodontically treated premolar teeth with 2 roots. Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of fiber post location on fracture resistance and failure mode of endodontically treated premolars with 2 roots. Material and methods. Fifty extracted maxillary first premolars with 2 roots were divided randomly into 5 groups. Group 1 was comprised of sound teeth, which received only metal crowns (control). Teeth from groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were decoronated 2 mm above the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) and were endodontically treated. No post was placed in group 2 teeth. Teeth from groups 3, 4 and 5 were given a fiber post placed in the buccal canal, palatal canal, and both buccal and palatal canals, respectively. All teeth in groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were built up with composite and full coverage metal crowns. A compressive static load was applied at an angle of 25 degrees to the crowns with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min, until fracture. Results. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences among the groups (p = 0.002). A post hoc test showed significantly lower fracture resistance of group 4 compared to group 5 (p = 0.011). Furthermore, group 2 had significantly less fracture resistance compared to group 1 (p = 0.021) and group 5 (p = 0.002). According to Fisher's exact test, different post locations are non-significantly associated with fracture mode (p = 0.256). Conclusions. Fiber post location has a significant effect on fracture resistance of severely damaged, endodontically treated maxillary premolars with 2 roots. However, post placement in the palatal root is preferred, as it maintains the restorability of the tooth.