Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 2002 29; 330±335
Bond strengths of ®ve tapered root posts regarding
the post surface
È ZCAN²
I. NERGIZ*, P. SCHMAGE*, U. PLATZER* & M. O
²
Periodontology, Dental School, University of Hamburg, Germany and Dentistry Faculty, Department of Prosthodontics, Marmara University,
Istanbul, Turkey
SUMMARY The advantage of tapered passive root
posts is their homogenous force transmission with-
out creating stress peaks on the root surface because
of their anatomical root form. However, their ex-
pected retentive strengths are low compared with
the other post systems. The objective of this in vitro
study was to determine the retentive strengths of
®ve tapered post systems from different manufac-
turers using tensile tests. For this purpose, all posts
were cemented with zinc phosphate cement (Te-
netÒ) into the roots of 50 intact anterior teeth
according to the manufacturer's instructions for
each system. The contact surface area between the
root canal wall and the post was taken into account
in the calculations in order to obtain comparable
results for different post con®gurations. The highest
bond strength values were achieved for the Erlangen
post systemÒ (10á8 N mm±2) and MP Pirec post
Introduction
A great number of pre-fabricated post and screw
systems can be used for restoring extensively damaged
clinical crowns of teeth which have undergone root
canal therapy. Principally, these post systems are
anchored in the root canal post spaces which have
been prepared by the corresponding burs. Moreover,
the post as well as the surrounding dentinal wall should
display an adequate physical strength. For this reason, it
is important to choose the right size of post (Caputo &
Standlee, 1976; Wood, 1983; Hudis & Goldstein, 1986;
Nathanson & Ashayeri, 1990; Morgano, 1996;
Zuckerman, 1996).
ã 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd
*Department of Operative Dentistry and
systemÒ (10 N mm±2). These values were more than
three times those of the Velva-PostÒ (3á2 N mm±2)
and the Cylindro-Conical systemÒ (3á5 N mm±2) and
®ve times more than those of the Dr Mooser post
systemÒ (1á7 N mm±2). The bond strength values of
the Erlangen post systemÒ, Cylindro-Conical sys-
temÒ and Dr Mooser post systemÒ showed statisti-
cally signi®cant differences compared with the
other groups. The results of this study indicated
that the bond strengths of tapered posts were not
only affected by the contact surface but also by the
taper angle, shape of the post system, the width of
the cement joint, surface roughness of the posts as
well as the form of the canal wall. In clinical
practice, in case of choosing tapered posts with
similar shapes, retention may still vary because of
other factors.
KEYWORDS : posts, roughness, bond strength
Generally, the following factors in¯uence the retent-
ion of the passive ®tting dental reconstructions; the
surface area of the post, the surface structure of
the tooth and reconstruction, the taper angle, and the
thickness of the cement layer (Standlee et al., 1978).
Numerous reports exist in the literature suggesting
that tapered posts have lower bond strengths than those
of other shaped posts. Additionally, histological sections
have revealed signi®cant differences in the width of the
cement joint between various post systems and their
corresponding preparation burs (Johnson & Sakumura,
1978; Ruemping et al., 1979; Cooney et al., 1986; Hudis
& Goldstein, 1986; Ricker et al., 1986; Brown &
Mitchem, 1987; Radke et al., 1988).
330
 EFFECT OF POST ROUGHNESS ON RETENTION 331

The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the

bond strength of ®ve variously designed passive tapered
post systems from different manufacturers with regard
to the contact surface areas and surface textures after
being cemented into the human teeth.

Materials and methods

Ten posts in size 2 in maximum length from each of the
following passive tapered post systems were used,
respectively (Fig. 1):
a Cylindro-Conical post systemÒ*
b Erlangen post systemÒ²
c Dr Mooser post systemÒ*
d MP Pirec post systemÒ³
e Velva-Post systemÒ§
Erlangen post systemÒ had sandblasted surfaces.
Cylindro-Conical post systemÒ had a vertical groove
over the whole length for the cement ¯ow, whereas MP
Pirec post systemÒ had only a vertical groove in its
coronal part and three horizontal grooves.
The surface roughness of the post and the root canal
wall was measured for all systems with use of a
surface pro®le measuring instrument (Model S8P
Perthometer)¶. This was obtained by cutting vertically
into half a further set of prepared teeth using a band
saw and measuring the roughness of the post space as
described previously by éilo and Jùrgensen (1978).
A total of 50 newly extracted non-carious human
anterior teeth were stored in physiological saline
solution before use. The crowns were removed
perpendicular to the long axis of the root by a saw
band**. Five groups each having 10 roots were
formed for the post systems. The root canals were
endodontically prepared using hand instruments up to
one ISO-size smaller than the respective post space
preparation instrument. Then the post spaces were
pre-drilled using different burs in accordance with the
respective directions for each system. The instruments
used for the preparation of the roots are presented in
Fig. 2. Care was taken that each post ®tted well to its
root canal without any movement. In the case of the
Erlangen post systemÒ, the root canals were addi-
*Cendres & MeÂtaux SA, Biel, Switzerland.
²
Brasseler, Lemgo, Germany.
³
Metalor, Neuchatel, Switzerland.
§ ²²
Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland.
¶ ³³
Mahr GmbH, GoÈttingen, Germany.
**EXACT, Norderstedt, Germany.
Fig. 1. Five post systems used in this study: a ˆ Cylindro-Conical
post systemÒ; b ˆ Erlangen post systemÒ; c ˆ Dr Mooser post
systemÒ; d ˆ MP Pirec post systemÒ; e ˆ Velva-Post systemÒ.
tionally roughened with a hand-held diamond coated
drill of the same size and shape as the post prepar-
ation drill²² by rotating it ®ve times (diamond
instrument, ER post systemÒ, Ra ˆ 52 lm) as recom-
mended by the manufacturer. The post spaces were
irrigated intensively with 1á5% sodium hypochloride
and dried thoroughly with paper points³³ of the
respective sizes.
For cementation, a standard zinc phosphate cement
(Tenet)§§ was used. The cement was prepared always
by the same investigator on a cooled (6 °C) glass
mixing slab at a constant room temperature of 20 °C,
according to the manufacturer's directions. Powder
was added to the liquid in small increments and mixed
thoroughly by using the majority of the mixing slab to
arrive at a creamy consistency where a small portion of
the mix did not drop from the spatula. The posts were
lightly coated with cement and seated into the
prepared post spaces. Constant ®nger pressure of
approximately 40±50 N was maintained for 10 min
until the cement had set. Standardization of the
40±50 N ®nger pressure was practiced on a scale, both
before and during the cementation process and all of
the posts were cemented by the same person. In order
to prevent dehydration, the teeth were wrapped in a
Brasseler, Lemgo, Germany.
Roeko, Langenau, Germany.
§§
Vivadent, Inc., Amherst, NY, USA.

ã 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 29; 330±335

332 I . N E R G I Z et al.
physiologic saline soaked towel and stored in a closed
container at 37 °C for 24 h until the tensile force test
(Nergiz et al., 1997).
In order to prevent dehydration, the test specimens
were stored in a moist atmosphere at 37 °C for 24 h
prior to the tensile tests. A modi®ed tensile force
measuring instrument (Model 1026)¶¶ was used to
apply force along the long axis of the post and the tooth
at a crosshead speed of 1 mm min±1. The force required
to dislodge each post was then recorded.
The contact surface area of all post systems with and
without grooves was calculated from the outside
surface. Then photographs of posts were taken and
enlarged for calculation of the contact surface area and
the taper angle. This made it possible to calculate the
different components of the varying posts individually.
The calculation of the surface areas of the Cylindro-
Conical post systemÒ and MP Pirec post systemÒ
involved the diameter of the grooves as it was techni-
cally impossible to register the groove walls.
The task was to establish a comparison between the
retention force of the various post systems. The surface
areas of posts in all systems varied considerably. The
measured retention force values (N) were divided by
the contact surface area (mm2) and thus, converted into
the proportional bonding strength in N mm±2.
The data were analysed by the package program
SPSS/PC + (Version 7á0). Statistical evaluation was
¶¶
Instron Corp., Los Alimitos, CA, USA.
ã 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 29; 330±335
Fig. 2. Instruments used for the
preparation of the root canal prior to
the insertion of ®ve different conical
post systems: a1, Penetration drill for
the Cylindro-Conical Post systemÒ;
b1, Initial precision spinal drill for the
Erlangen systemÒ; b2 - Diamond-
coated roughening instrument for
the Erlangen Post systemÒ; c1,
Penetration drill for the Dr Mooser
Post systemÒ; c2, Penetration drill for
the Dr Mooser Post systemÒ; d, Root
canal widener for the MP Pirec Post
systemÒ; e1, Combined burs for the
Velva-Post systemÒ; e2, Precision
spinal drill for the Velva-Post
systemÒ.
carried out using Mann±Whitney U-test and corrected
using the Boneferroni method due to the signi®cance
levels.
Results
The mechanical retention of the posts varied consider-
ably between the different post systems. The retention
force is expressed in N when subjected to a tensile force.
The resulting bond strength values, contact surface
areas, and the retention forces with means and stand-
ard deviations (s.d.) are presented in Tables 1 and 2.
The comparison of bond strengths after tensile test
revealed the highest values for the Erlangen post
systemÒ and the MP Pirec post systemÒ being signi®-
cantly higher than the other systems (P < 0á001). No
signi®cant difference was found between these two
systems. Their mean tensile bond strengths of
10á8 N mm±2 and 10á0 N mm±2, respectively, were
three to four times higher than the value obtained
from the Cylindro-Conical postÒ (3á5 N mm±2) and the
Velva-Post systemÒ (3á2 N mm±2). The Dr Mooser post
systemÒ exhibited the least favourable results
(1á7 N mm±2).
Table 3 shows the roughness (RZ) of the surfaces and
canal walls in microns, together with the taper angles of
the different portions of the posts.
After tensile test, for the posts with smoother surfa-
ces, i.e. the Cylindro-Conical postsÒ, the Velva-Post
systemÒ, and the Dr Mooser postsÒ, the joint between
 EFFECT OF POST ROUGHNESS ON RETENTION 333

Table 1. Mean values of tensile force measurements in N, surface area of post surface without grooves in mm2 and bond strength in
N mm±2 calculated from the retention force value/contact surface

Mean values of retention force Bonding strength

measurements (in N) (in N mm±2)
Contact surface
Post systems n x s.d. Min. Max. area (mm2) x s.d.

Cylindro-Conical 10 225 80 100 375 63á5 3á5 1á3

Erlangen 10 836 60 760 970 77á8 10á8 1á6
Dr Mooser 10 123 26 80 155 70á8 1á7 0á4
MP Pirec 10 377 68 275 470 37á6 10á0 1á9
Velva-Post 10 143 38 100 225 45á4 3á2 0á9

n ˆ Number of posts, x ˆ mean values, s.d. ˆ standard deviation, min ˆ minimum, max ˆ maximum values.

Table 2. Signi®cance levels of

Signi®cance level
bonding strengths for the different
post systems using the Mann± Post systems n Cylindro-Conical Erlangen Dr Mooser MP Pirec Velva-Post
Whitney U comparative test
Cylindro-Conical 10 ± *** ** *** n.s.
Erlangen 10 *** ± *** n.s. ***
Dr Mooser 10 ** *** ± *** ***
MP Pirec
10 *** n.s. *** ± ***
Velva-Post 10 n.s. *** *** *** ±

n ˆ Number of posts, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, n.s. ˆ non-signi®cant.

Table 3. Roughness (RZ) of post

Roughness (RZ) Taper angle
surfaces and canal walls in microns
and taper angles of the posts Post systems Post surface Canal wall Coronal portion Apical portion

Cylindro-Conical 1á8 1á5 0° 3á24°

Erlangen 12á9 21á0 2á1° 2á1°
Dr Mooser 1á1 1á4 3á08° 3á08°
MP Pirec 2á0 2á2 3á5° 3á5°
Velva-Post 1á6 1á4 5á8° 1á15°

the post and the cement was found to be the weakest
point in the whole structure. When these posts were
removed, it was often found that there was no longer
any cement adhering to the posts or at best only in the
spillway. Instead, all the cement was found adhered to
the root canal walls. In the Erlangen postÒ applications,
cement was found spread almost all over the extracted
posts as well as over the root canal walls. Both the
surfaces of the MP Pirec postsÒ and the root canal walls
were found to be covered with a ®rmly adhering layer
of cement of varying thickness. The spiral grooves and
the spillway of the MP Pirec postsÒ were ®lled with
cement. In case of these two post systems, the tensile
forces lead to the break inside the cement layer. The
weakest point in the structure therefore, was obviously
inside the cement layer in these posts.
Discussion
The purpose of this investigation was to compare the
retentive properties of various tapered post systems.
With the help of the contact surface areas, the bond
strength values were calculated regarding the same
surface area of each post system.
In this study, the greatest bond strengths were
achieved for posts with rough or grooved surfaces and
rough canal walls. This was because of the denticula-
tion of the cement in both rough surfaces which had

ã 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 29; 330±335

334 I . N E R G I Z et al.
already been demonstrated with the aid of histological
sections in an earlier study (Tjan et al., 1987). The
Erlangen postsÒ provide a sandblasted surface and the
MP Pirec systemÒ featured additional spiral grooves.
Bonding strength of different post systems with very
similar contact surfaces, such as the Erlangen and the
Dr Mooser systemsÒ, were found to differ signi®cantly
(P < 0á001). The individual mechanisms producing this
result must therefore be identi®ed as they might show
differences depending on the taper angle, surface
roughness of the post and the canal wall.
The taper angle could represent a conceivable
explanation. The retention decreases rapidly with the
increasing conicity (Johnson & Sakumura, 1978).
However, if the taper angle was the only factor
determining bonding strength, the highest proportional
bonding strength would have to be obtained from the
Cylindro-Conical postsÒ. In contrast, although this
system has the smallest taper angle, the proportional
bond strength was relative to the other post systems.
Homogeneous and preferably small cement joint is
another prerequisite for good retention. The width of
the cement joints of all systems had been measured
previously and clinically required ideal values were
reported to be between 30 and 50 lm (Johnson &
Sakumura, 1978). This means that the width of the
cement joint is evidently not the only factor responsible
for the differences in bonding strength.
The measured bonding strength, as a consequence,
cannot be adequately explained only in terms of the
contact surface, taper angle or width of the cement
joint. The retention of the zinc phosphate cement on
the dentin and post surface was another critical factor
determining the durability of cemented posts and
basing on mechanical anchorage through microdentic-
ulation (Colley et al., 1968; éilo & Jùrgensen, 1978).
On the one hand, the wedging effect is due to the
molecular adhesive forces in two adjacent surfaces, and
on the other, to the surface roughness which creates
mutually submerged areas relative to the direction of
extraction. These areas are ®lled with cement and can
only be separated by shattering the cement (Assif &
Gor®l, 1994).
The Erlangen post systemÒ provided a sandblasted
surface and a rough root canal wall using a diamond
coated instrument. This was the only tested system
roughening the canal wall and lead therefore to
different conditions. That discrepancy in comparison
with the other systems was deliberately accepted,
ã 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 29; 330±335
because each system had to be tested as they were
used in this form practically.
The MP Pirec post systemsÒ featured additional
spiral grooves. The high bond strengths of both systems
can be explained by their microretention. The cement
must have been broken inside its layer, adhering well
to the connecting surfaces as it was the weakest point.
The weakest point in other post systems was the
smooth post surface, which did not offer any possibility
for the cement to adhere. The cement, consequently,
peeled off completely from these posts, adhering even
to the relatively smooth canal walls, and the bond
strength was correspondingly lower. The vertical
groove of Cylindro-Conical postsÒ allowed the cement
to ¯ow while setting but did not show any retentive
effect.
When discussing the results of this study, it is clear
that factors, such as the contact surface, the taper angle,
the width of the cement joint, and the surface rough-
ness, are all responsible for the results obtained.
Although the spiral grooves increased the existing
surface area, it was not possible to calculate the areas
as they did not exhibit a de®nite geometrical shape. The
Erlangen and MP Pirec systemsÒ appear to be equally
suitable in terms of their bonding strength, although
the latter is only indicated to a very limited extent on
account of its short functional length. The Erlangen
post systemÒ is therefore, a superior system for univer-
sal clinical use as it exhibits a narrow and uniform
cement joint, large contact surface area and slight
conicity, as well as adequate functional length and
appropriate post canal wall surface roughness.
The calculation of the surface area of the grooves
made a change about 1% for the bond strength as more
surface area would give a lower bond value. However,
the ®ndings contradicted this hypothesis, thus the
mathematical mistake was accepted. Moreover, the
retention ability of zinc phosphate cement decrease
with the width of the cemental joint where only
horizontal grooves could act for locking. Zinc phosphate
was used for the cementation purposes because of its
clear advantages and long track records. The retentive
properties of the posts tested could also be compared
with other cements in another study.
Conclusions
1. The bond strengths of tapered root posts differed
widely between 1á7 N mm±1 and 10á8 N mm±1.
 EFFECT OF POST ROUGHNESS ON RETENTION
2. The amount of bond strength of a tapered post
system depended decisively on the parameters such as
taper angle, width of the cement joint and the surface
roughness of the post and canal wall.
3. The advantage of roughened or horizontally grooved
posts cemented to the roughened root canal walls
should be used in order to increase the retention of
passive tapered posts for longer clinical service.
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Correspondence: Mutlu O È zcan, Dentistry Faculty, Department of
Prosthodontics, Marmara University, BuÈyuÈkcËiftlik Sok. No: 6, 80200
Ni´anta´i, Istanbul, Turkey.
E-mail: mutluozcan@hotmail.com