EFFECT OF LUTING AGENTS ON THE TENSILE BOND STRENGTH OF GLASS FIBER POSTS: AN IN VITRO STUDY

Statement of problem. Fiber posts can fail because of loss of retention; and it is unknown which luting agent provides the highest bond strength. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the tensile bond strength of glass fiber posts luted to premolar teeth with 6 resin composite luting agents. Material and methods. Ninety-six single-rooted extracted human mandibular premolars were sectioned 2 mm coronal to the most incisal point of the cementoenamel junction. Root canals were instrumented and obturated with laterally condensed gutta percha and root canal sealer (AH26). Gutta percha was removed from the canals to a depth of 8 mm and diameter post spaces with a 1.5 mm were prepared. The specimens were divided into the following 6 groups according to the luting agent used (n=16): Group V, Variolink II; Group A, RelyX ARC; Group N, Multilink N; Group U, RelyX Unicem; Group P, ParaCore; Group F, MultiCore Flow. Each specimen was secured in a universal testing machine and a separating load was applied at a rate of 0.5 mm/min. The forces required to dislodge the posts were recorded. A 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to the mean retentive strengths of various cement materials (alpha=.05). Results. Significant differences were recorded among the 6 cement types (P<.001). Three materials provided statistically equivalent mean bond strengths (RelyX Unicem, Paracore, and MultiCore Flow) that were significantly greater than for the other 3 materials. Conclusions. Fiber posts luted with RelyX Unicem, Paracore, and MultiCore Flow demonstrated significantly higher bond strengths.