Marius Mihai Ţogoe, Borislav-Dusan Caplar, Emanuela-Lidia Crăciunescu, Kristian Miok, Dan Ioan Stoia, Anghel Cernescu, Daniela Maria Pop, Cosmin Sinescu, Mihai Romînu, Meda-Lavinia Negruţiu

Aim of the study The resistance to functional and parafunctional stresses of devitalized teeth is multifactorial, but the choice of a specific endodontic post system influences the restoration’s longevity. This primary ex-vivo study aims to evaluate the compressive strength of three different non-metallic post systems and to analyze the appearance of fracture surfaces (fractography) using optical microscopy and alongside statistical analysis that validates their behavior. Material and methods For this study, three groups of non-metallic post systems were considered as follows: glass fiber-reinforced photopolymerized resin, pressed ceramic, and pressed ceramic on glass fiber. The sample size has a length of 0.8mm and an average diameter of 0.2mm. Subsequently, the samples were embedded in self-polymerizing resin to be secured in the workspace of the Zwick Roell 5kN testing machine that works at loading speed of 2 mm/min. The fractographic analysis of the obtained surfaces were performed with the Optika SLX3 microscope and C-B16 camera, at magnifications of 20, 50, and 90X. Results The data obtained from the mechanical tests were statistically processed and the results showed significant differences regarding the compressive strength of non-metallic post systems made from different materials and different technologies. Conclusions The group containing posts made from pressed ceramic on glass fiber exhibited higher resistance to applied compressive forces.