Bond Strength of Individually Formed and Prefabricated Fiber-reinforced Composite Posts

Purpose: To investigate the micro push-out bond strength of individually formed (everStick Post) and prefabricated (GC Fiber Post) fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) posts cemented with three different types of self-adhesive composite cements. Materials and Methods: Forty-two single-rooted human teeth were decoronated, endodontically treated, and had post spaces prepared for everStick Post (n = 21) or GC Fiber Post (n = 21). The teeth were randomly divided into three subgroups (n = 7), and posts were cemented either with G-CEM LinkAce (GC), SpeedCEM (Ivoclar Vivadent) or RelyX U200 (3M Oral Care). Specimens were then perpendicularly sectioned and divided at the cementoenamel junction into two root levels: coronal or apical. A micro push-out test was performed using an 0.8-mm-wide stainless steel plunger. Bond strength was calculated in MPa by dividing the fracture load (N) by the bonded surface area (mm2). Log-transformed data was statistically analyzed using factorial ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test (α 0.05). Fracture modes were determined employing a stereomicroscope, and differences were evaluated using a likelihood ratio test and Pearson's chi-squared test. Specimens were also observed using SEM. Results: Bond strengths were significantly affected by both post type and root level (p 0.05), but not by self-adhesive cement (p > 0.05). Fracture types showed a significantly higher prevalence of adhesive fractures at the apical level, with all fractures starting at the cement-dentin interface. Conclusion: Individually formed FRC posts demonstrated greater bond strength than their prefabricated FRC counterparts. The apical level of the luted posts yielded lower bond strengths than the coronal level. Failures were predominantly adhesive at the cement-dentin interface. Keywords: fiber post, push-out, self-adhesive cement, semi-interpenetrating polymer network