Resistance to cyclic loading of teeth restored with posts.

This in vitro study evaluated the effect of presence of post, presence of core, and of shape, type, and surface treatment of posts on resistance to cyclic loading of crowned human teeth. For all teeth, crowns designed without ferrule were cast in sterling silver and luted with resin cement (Panavia F). Each tooth underwent cyclic loading of 600 N at two loads per second until failure. Teeth that had only been crowned showed significantly higher resistance to cyclic loading than teeth with cores or with post and cores. No significant differences were found between teeth restored with cores only or with post and cores, irrespective of surface-treatment of the posts. Teeth restored with parallel-sided cast post (ParaPost XP) and cores showed significantly higher resistance to cyclic loading than teeth with either tapered cast posts or untreated prefabricated posts of titanium alloy (ParaPost XH) or glass fiber composite (ParaPost Fiber White). No significant difference was found between teeth restored with parallel-sided cast post and cores and teeth restored with untreated prefabricated posts of zirconia (Cerapost). Surface treatment of posts significantly increased the resistance to cyclic loading compared with untreated posts. When posts are used, surface treatment is recommended.