Mechanical Properties and Structural Characteristics of Fiber Post Systems

Objectives: This study evaluated the mechanical properties of 3 types of serrated and smooth fiber posts by mechanical three-point bending test and observations of internal microstructure with Electronic Scanning Microscope
Methods: Three types of posts (Parapost fiber lux-Coltene fiberglass, RelyXTM Fiber Post-3M fiberglass, Macro-lock illusion-xro-RTD quartz fiber) (n=10) were evaluated by three-point bending test and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) evaluation, determining the relationship between internal integrity and resistance to bending. A one-way ANOVA multivariate test and Tukey test (α=0.05) were performed
Results: The values recorded for flexural strength were: RelyXTM 856.9 (101.0) A, ParaPost 805.1 (77.9) A, Macro-lock 546.2 (81.9) B. The flexural modulus found was: ParaPost 10371.7 (1142.6) A, RelyXTM 10132.6 (1830.4) A, Macro-lock 8644.6 (1724.1) A. Stiffness was: RelyXTM 296.2 (51.5) A, Macro-lock 291.7 (42.1) AB, ParaPost 247.5 (20.8) B. The posts used show a significant variation in the properties tested. Macro-lock illussion posts have lower stiffness and lower flexural strength than RelyXTM posts
Conclusions: The serration presence on the fiber post affect significantly the mechanical properties and reduces the stiffness of the evaluated posts. There was no difference in the flexural modulus of the evaluated posts