The effect of post surface treatments on the bond strength of fiber posts to root surfaces

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of post surface treatment methods on the push-out bond strength of adhesively luted quartz fiber posts. Thirty freshly extracted and endodontically treated human incisor teeth were prepared for quartz fiber posts. The posts were submitted to three different surface treatments (n = 10), including no treatment, 50-µm aluminum-oxide (Al₂O₃) airborne-particle abrasion and Er:YAG laser (10 Hz, 150 mJ) irradiation. The posts were luted with resin cement. Each root was sectioned perpendicularly to its long axis to create specimens of 1-mm thickness. After the specimens were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24 h, their push-out bond strength was tested using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. The data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (α = .05). The two-way ANOVA indicated that push-out test values did not vary significantly according to surface treatments applied (control, airborne particle abrasion, Er:YAG laser irradiation) (p > 0.05), however, values varied according to the root segments (cervical, middle, and apical) (p < 0.01). The push-out bond strength values of the coronal root sections were the highest (p < 0.05) and there were no significant differences between the middle and apical root sections in push-out bond strength of fiber posts (p > 0.05). Air-borne particle abrasion or Er:YAG laser irradiation applied on the quartz fiber posts did not affect the push-out bond strengths relative to the root surfaces. The highest bond strength was observed in the cervical third of the roots in all groups.