In vitro fracture resistance of endodontically treated central incisors with varying ferrule heights and configurations

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The in vitro effectiveness of a uniform circumferential ferrule has been established in the literature; however, the effect of a nonuniform circumferential ferrule height on fracture resistance is unknown. PURPOSE: This in vitro study investigated the resistance to static loading of endodontically treated teeth with uniform and nonuniform ferrule configurations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty extracted intact maxillary human central incisors were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 groups: CRN, no root canal treatment (RCT), restored with a crown; RCT/CRN, no dowel/core, restored with a crown; 2 FRL, 2-mm ferrule, cast dowel/core and crown; 0.5/2 FRL, nonuniform ferrule (2 mm buccal and lingual, 0.5 mm proximal), cast dowel/core and crown; and 0 FRL, no ferrule, cast dowel/core and crown. The teeth were prepared to standardized specifications and stored for 72 hours in 100% humidity prior to testing. Testing was conducted with a universal testing machine with the application of a static load, and the load (N) at failure was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed with a 1-way analysis of variance and the Tukey Honestly Significant Difference test (alpha=.05). The mode of fracture was noted by visual inspection for all specimens. RESULTS: There was strong evidence of group differences in mean fracture strength ( P <.0001). Following adjustment for all pairwise group comparisons, it was found that the lack of a ferrule resulted in a significantly lower mean fracture strength (0 FRL: 264.93 +/- 78.33 N) relative to all other groups. The presence of a nonuniform (0.5 to 2-mm vertical height) ferrule (0.5/2 FRL: 426.64 +/- 88.33 N) resulted in a significant decrease ( P =.0001) in mean fracture strength when compared with the uniform 2-mm vertical ferrule (2 FRL: 587.23 +/- 110.25 N), the group without RCT (CRN: 583.67 +/- 86.09 N), and the RCT-treated tooth with a crown alone (CRN/RCT: 571.04 +/- 154.86 N). The predominant mode of failure was an oblique fracture extending from the lingual margin to the facial surface just below the insertion of the tooth into the acrylic resin. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that central incisors restored with cast dowel/core and crowns with a 2-mm uniform ferrule were more fracture resistant compared to central incisors with nonuniform (0.5 to 2 mm) ferrule heights. Both the 2-mm ferrule and nonuniform ferrule groups were more fracture resistant than the group that lacked a ferrule.