## 2 Materials and Methods  
The study protocol was prepared and presented to the institutional ethical review committee before obtaining ethical clearance. Detailed descriptions of the materials used in the experiment are given in Table 1.  
Seventy-five bar specimens were prepared with the dimensions of \(25\times 4\times 2\) mm according to ISO specification 4049/2009. Test methods were followed according to the (American Society for Testing and Materials) ASTM D790 standards. Split metallic mold was used to prepare the uniform dimension of the specimen (Figure 1). Flowable composite resin was placed into the mold with an incremental pattern. According to the experimental groups, a different layer of splinting material was placed between the layers of composite. The specimens were polymerized by Bluephase(tm) unit (Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein) equipment with 10 mm light probe, using light intensity of 1200 mW/cm\({}^{2}\) with halogen like broadband spectrum ranging from 385-515 nm for 20 s.  
Specimens were divided equally (n = 15) into five groups (one control group, four test groups) depending on the type of splint material used:  
Group 1 (control): composite block without splinting material  
Group 2 (test): composite with F-splint-Aid(r)  
Group 3 (test): composite with ligature wire  
Group 4 (test): composite with InFibra(r)  
Group 5 (test): composite with Ribbond(r)  
The specimens were stored at 37 \({}^{\circ}\)C in distilled water for 24 h before being subjecting to the experimental testing. All the specimens were subjected to three-point bending test by using a Universal testing machine which was attached to a software programmed computer (ACME Engineers, India. Model No. UNITEST-10, Accuracy of the machine: \(\pm\)1%) (Figure 2). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline
**Name** & **Composition** & **Company** \\ \hline \hline
**Ribbond(tm)** (4 mm) & Fiber reinforced ribbons & Ribbond Inc., Seattle, Washington, USA. \\
**F-splint-Aid(tm)** (4 mm) & Fiber-glass band soaked in & PolytatiaSA, Mezzovico-Vira, \\  & bonding agent & Switzerland. \\ \hline
**InFibra(tm)** (4 mm) & Crystallized polyethylene fiber & BiolopenSr.rJ, Sarono (VA)-Italy. \\
**Morelli(tm)** **Ligature** & 0.2 mm, CrNi ligature wire & Morelli, Sao Paulo, Brazil. \\ \hline
**Filtek(tm)** **Z350 kT** & Bis-GMA, UDMA and BIS-EMA & \\
**(flow- able A1 Shade)** & with zircon and silica & 3M ESPE, Dental Products, St. Paul, USA. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
Bis-GMA: Bis-phenol glycidyl methacrylate; UDMA: Urethane dimethacrylate; BisEMA: Ethoxylatedbisphenol A dimethacrylate; CrNi: Chromium nickel.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Materials and their manufacturers. During the experimental period, the crosshead speed was adjusted to 1 mm/minute and the distance between support was 20 mm. The maximum load applied during the testing was reported in Newtons (N), whereas flexural strength and flexural modulus was recorded in megapascal (MPa) and gigapascal (GPa), respectively, for each group (Figure 3). Mean and standard deviations were calculated for each variable of all the groups. Flexural modulus was calculated by the software using the following formula [17];  
\[\mathrm{E}=\left[\frac{\mathrm{F}}{\mathrm{D}}\right]\times\left[\frac{ \mathrm{L}^{3}}{4\mathrm{BH}^{3}}\right]\]  
where, (F/D) is the slope in Newton per mm measured in the straight line portion of the load deflection curve. F = Max loaf in Newton. D = Deflection. L = Distance between supports. B = Width of specimens. H = Height of specimens. The statistical significance of inter-group difference in the distribution of mean flexural strength and modulus was tested using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-Hoc Bonferroni's test for multiple group comparisons. The underlying normality assumption was tested before subjecting  
Figure 3: Load deformation graph while conducting the experiment. Figure 2: Specim attached to universal testing machine for three point bending test. the study variables to ANOVA.