Stress distribution in endodontically treated hypertaurodont mandibular 2nd molars restored with different postendodontic restorations by finite element analysis

Abstract Background: This article evaluates the stress distribution in endodontically treated hypertaurodont mandibular 2 nd molars restored with different postendodontic restorations by finite element analysis (FEA). Materials and Methods: Cone-beam computed tomography data of a mandibular second molar exhibiting hypertaurodontism were used to generate a three-dimensional tooth model using MIMICS 9.0 software developed by Materialise. The solid model obtained was imported into ANSYS 14.0 developed by ANSYS, Inc. to create the geometric design and finite element mesh. For model development and refinement, SolidWorks and Blender Foundation software were also utilized. Based on the restorative material used to fill the elongated root canal space, three finite element models were developed: Model 1 Gutta-percha (GP) + Endocrown, Model 2 Ribbond + Endocrown, and Model 3 EverX Posterior + Endocrown. A vertical load of 350 N was applied to the functional cusps of all three models and the resulting stress patterns were analyzed. Results: FE model 3, restored with EverX Posterior + Endocrown, exhibited the lowest stress values, followed by the Ribbond-reinforced model 2. The highest stress concentration was observed in the Gutta percha + Endocrown model. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this FEA study, it can be concluded that hypertaurodont teeth with Endocrown as definative restorations demonstrated superior 26 biomechanical behavior when restored intraradicularly with EverX Posterior followed by Ribbond and the one with GP showed the least favorable stress distribution.