Fracture resistance of teeth restored with class II bonded composite resin.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether composite resin bonded to enamel or to both enamel and dentin can increase the fracture resistance of teeth with Class II cavity preparations. Extracted maxillary pre-molars with MOD slot preparations were restored with composite resin bonded to enamel (P-30 and Enamel Bond) or composite resin bonded to enamel and dentin (P-30 and Scotch-bond). Teeth in a control group were prepared but left unrestored. All teeth were loaded occlusally in a universal testing machine until they fractured. Means of forces required to fracture teeth in each of the three groups were statistically compared (one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni t test). Teeth restored with combined enamel- and dentin-bonded composite resins were significantly more resistant to fracture than were similarly prepared but unrestored teeth and also than teeth restored with enamel-bonded composite resin (p less than 0.05). A significant difference was not demonstrated between the enamel-bonded group and the unrestored group. Further testing is needed to determine the durability of the bonds between tooth and restoration in the clinical setting.