The teeth were restored with the following dowel systems: custom-shaped electrical glass fiber (CSG), ZrO2-containing tapered glass fiber (TZG), unidirectional
silica zirconium fiber (USZ), tapered glass fiber with high elastic modulus (HEG), Al2O3-containing tapered glass fiber (TAG), parallel-sided, serrated translucent glass fiber (STG), double-tapered quartz fiber with low elastic modulus (LEQ), parallel-sided, serrated opaque glass fiber (SOG), and stainless steel (SSP) (Table 1). Ninety freshly extracted, caries-free mandibular second premolar teeth were selected for this study. A manual scaler (Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co. Inc.; Leimen, Germany) was used to remove all external debris and soft tissue on the root surface. The Opaganib purchase anatomic crowns of the teeth were sectioned CH5424802 order using a water-cooled diamond disc (Hyperflex 911, Komet Braesseler GmbH; Lemgo, Germany) to leave a root length of 14.5 mm, which is the average root length of this tooth.[9] The teeth were assigned to one of nine groups of ten teeth each. The buccolingual and mesiodistal root dimensions were assessed with one-way ANOVA to demonstrate any significant differences among the groups. There were no significant differences among
the groups (p = 1.0). Using tapered rotary instruments (ProFile Ni-Ti, Dentsply Maillefer; Ballaigues, Switzerland), root canal preparations were made to a size of 0.46 mm. Irrigation was carried out using 1 ml of 5.2% NaOCl solution between each file and 2 ml of saline solution after preparation. For all groups, dowel spaces were prepared to a depth of
10 mm,[10, 11] with the drills of the PJ34 HCl dowel systems supplied by the manufacturer or with universal Peeso reamers, if recommended by the manufacturer. Dowel diameters were selected according to the manufacturers’ recommendations for mandibular premolar teeth (Table 1). All of the dowels were shortened to a length of 14.5 mm with a water-cooled diamond disc. Before dowel cementation, to ensure removal of the smear layer, the root canals were irrigated with 2 ml of 17% EDTA solution and 2 ml of 5.2% NaOCl solution, then rinsed with 5 ml of water and dried with paper points (Diadent Group International; Chongju City, Korea).[12] Specific surface conditioning procedures for each dowel system were performed according to the manufacturers’ instructions (Table 1). The root canal fillings were not made,[13] and a size #40 gutta-percha was placed at the apical part of the roots through the apical end, to avoid obturation of the excess resin cement. Cementation of the dowels was accomplished with a self-cure adhesive resin cement system (Multilink Automix, Ivoclar Vivadent; Schaan, Liechtenstein). As per instruction manual procedures, primer A and primer B, which are supplied with the Multilink system, were mixed in 1/1 portions and applied into the prepared root canals with a brushing technique, using an endodontic applicator, for 15 seconds.