Fatigue resistance and structural integrity of different types of fiber posts.

The study aimed at assessing and estimating the fatigue resistance of different fiber posts and to observe their ultrastructures through SEM. Six types of fiber posts were used: GC Fiber Post (Group 1), ParaPost Fiber White (Group 2), FibreKor (Group 3), DT Light-Post radiopaque (Group 4), FRC Postec (Group 5), and Luscent Anchors (Group 6). Ten out of 15 posts within each group were used for the fatigue test, and the other five were processed for SEM evaluation. The fatigue test revealed that Groups 1, 4, and 5 performed better than all the other groups, and that their performance differed significantly from the other tested groups from a statistical standpoint. For SEM analysis, Groups 1, 4, and 5 also obtained better results. Through correlation analysis, an absence of correlation between fatigue resistance and structural characteristics suggested that the latter reflected more of the divergence inherent in the manufacturing process of fiber posts.