Comparative evaluation of the fracture resistance of reattched fragments using three different retentive methods: An in vitro study

Abstract

: Traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth are one of the most difficult and perplexing problems faced in the paediatric dentistry. Coronal fracture of the anterior teeth is a common form of dental trauma that mainly affects the maxillary and mandibular incisors. Fragment reattachment has been the preffered technique among clinicians because it has several advantages over the composite restorations such as it is a conservative procedure, maintains original tooth contours, translucence and incisal edge wears at similar rate to adjacent teeth. : To compare and evaluate the fracture resistance of reattached fragments using three different methods. Forty sound permanent mandibular central and lateral incisor were selected and mounted in self-cure acrylic resin. The teeth were sectioned with a diamond disc 3mm short of the incisal edge and they were randomly divided into four groups (n=10). Group I – simple reattachment, group II- internal dentinal groove, group III – vertical groove with fiber reinforced post placement, group IV – overcontouring done before the reattachment procedure. The force required to fracture the specimen were recorded using an onscreen calibration tool of the universal testing machine. The results were statistically analyzed. : The results showed that group I, group II and group IV required lesser force to fracture when compared with group III. : The group restored with fiber reinforced post showed the highest value of fracture strength while the simple reattachment had the lowest value.