Effect of Posts Material on Stress Distribution at the Endodontic Treated Canine Tooth: A 3D Finite Element Analysis

Introduction: In case of severe destruction or total coronal loss of tooth structure the retention of the core is achieved by embedding a post into the root canal. There are different prefabricated posts for buildup of coronal tooth structure. There is no same opinion about which post is more effective for root canal treatment (RCT) tooth. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of post material on the stress distribution of RCT maxillary canine by finite element analysis (FEA). Methods: A canine tooth was mounted inside a resin. A 3D scan of the mounted tooth was prepared by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) method. The Mimics Medical and Solidworks software was applied to provide an appropriate 3D model of the canine tooth. Post core crown restorations with three different types of prefabricated post, glass fiber, zirconia, and titanium, were considered for the restoration. An oblique load of 100 N was applied on the cusp and then FEA was performed by ABAQUS software. Results: The results of FEA showed that in all models the maximum principal stress occurred at the crest area. The stress decreased in dentin and increased in the post and cement interface by increasing of post elastic modulus. Conclusion: In according to FEA results it could be deducted that the post stresses are increased, by increasing of post elastic modulus, as well as the post material has a small contribution to the stress of the cervical area.