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I am indebted to Håvard J. Haugen, Janne Elin Reseland and Ståle Petter Lyngstadaas. I would like to thank you for the inspirational discussions, progress meetings and the encouragement to present my research outside the department. But most importantly, you backed me up when I needed it the most. You have my respect. I never thought that microbiology is fun. That was before I met Jessica Lönn-Stensrud. Thank you for showing me bakterienes forunderlige verden and for being an excellent supervisor. Thanks, Hanna Tiainen, for absolutely everything. You have been a mentor for me and I enjoyed every bit of this three-year-long roller coaster ride. Our intense discussions have been a highlight of my PhD and I would like to thank you for passing on your passion for research. Along the way, I had the privilege to work with several outstanding researchers in their field.

The chemical decontamination of infected dental implants is essential for the successful treatment of peri-implantitis. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial effect of a hydrogen peroxide-titanium dioxide (HO-TiO) suspension against Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms. Titanium (Ti) coins were inoculated with a bioluminescent S. epidermidis strain for 8 h and subsequently exposed to HO with and without TiO nanoparticles or chlorhexidine (CHX). Bacterial regrowth, bacterial load and viability after decontamination were analyzed by continuous luminescence monitoring, live/dead staining and scanning electron microscopy. Bacterial regrowth was delayed on surfaces treated with HO-TiO compared to HO. HO-based treatments resulted in a lower bacterial load compared to CHX. Few viable bacteria were found on surfaces treated with HO and HO-TiO, which contrasted with a uniform layer of dead bacteria for surfaces treated with CHX. HO-TiO suspensions could therefore be considered an alternative approach in the decontamination of dental implants.

Wiedmer et al.