Effect of Er,Cr:YSGG pretreatment on bond strength of fiber posts to root canal dentin using a self-adhesive resin cement

The weak link in the adhesive luting of fiber posts to root canal dentin is at the cement–dentin interface. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation on push-out bond strength of fiber posts cemented to root canal dentin using a self-adhesive cement. A total of 30 sound human maxillary central incisors were equally divided into two groups after root canal treatment, decoronation and preparation of the post space. Teeth of group 1 were treated with the Er,Cr:YSGG laser, and teeth of group 2 (control) received no laser treatment. After cementation of fiber posts with Maxcem self-adhesive cement, 3-mm cervical, middle and apical sections were prepared from the roots. Then a push-out test was performed using a universal testing machine at a strain rate of 0.5 mm/min. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni test. Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05. There was a significant difference in the mean bond strength values between groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.001), but there were no significant differences between the various root parts (P = 0.14). In addition, the cumulative effects of dentin treatment type and various root parts were not statistically significant (P = 0.41). The mean bond strength in the laser group was significantly higher than in the control group (P = 0.001, post hoc Bonferroni test).The failure mode was evaluated under a stereomicroscope at ×20 magnification.