Fracture Resistance in Severely Damaged Central Incisors Restored with Two-restoration Techniques: An In Vitro Study

Background The endocrown is defined as a fixed restoration crafted from a homogeneous, adhesive ceramic designed to restore the coronal portion of the tooth. It derives its support from the pulp chamber, with or without extension into the pulp canals. Aims This study aimed to compare the fracture resistance between IPS e.max press endocrowns and conventional crowns made from the same material, supported by a fiber post and composite core, in restoring endodontically treated maxillary central incisors after subjecting them to oblique compression loads. Materials and Methods A total of 20 extracted permanent maxillary central incisors were collected and randomly divided into two groups. The first group (n=10) was prepared to receive IPS e.max press endocrowns, while the second group (n=10) was restored using a fiber post and composite core and then prepared to receive IPS e.max press crowns. Subsequently, the fracture strength of the restorations was tested using a universal testing machine. Statistical evaluation was performed using SPSS 13.0. Results The mean fracture resistance was measured at 383 ± 68.65 N for the endocrown group and 333 ± 55.79 N for the conventional crown group. No significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding fracture resistance ( p = 0.091). Conclusion In the context of this study, no difference in fracture resistance was found between the bonded ceramic endocrowns made of IPS e.max and the traditional technique when restoring severely damaged endodontically treated maxillary central incisors.