Factors affecting the length of fiber post and core structure: a literature review

An ideal balance between the post length within root and the coronal extension should exist. Some theories advocated the use of the longest post as possible as the apical seal is not disturbed. Others advocated that the post should be longer than the crown or that the post should be a certain fraction of the length of the root. The conventional post length has been equal to 2/3-3/4 of the root length from half a century ago. Most of these theories have emphasized the post length in order to achieve sufficient retention and rigidity for coronal restoration. However, dental materials are evolving.With the use of fiber post and resin cement, stress distribution and post retention are improved over conventional metal post and zinc phosphate or glass-ionomer cement. Therefore, with improved bonding strength of fiber post, the post length within root should be minimized to maintain sufficient coronal rigidity. Factors affecting fracture resistance balance of a post-and-core system include the amount of Ferrule height (FH), Post length in root (PLIR), Post length in bone (PLIB), Abutment height (AH), Core length (CL) and Post length out of bone (PLOB). In view of the factors mentioned above, this paper investigated the mechanical factorsin a post-and-core system with literature review.