Differential Efficacy of Two Dental Implant Decontamination Techniques in Reducing Microbial Biofilm and Re-Growth onto Titanium Disks In Vitro

Abstract

Dental implants are crucial therapeutic devices for successful substitution of missing teeth. Failure cases are mainly pathogen-associated events, allowing clinical progression toward peri-mucositis or peri-implantitis. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of two mechanical decontamination systems, Nickel-Titanium brush (Brush) and Air-Polishing system with 40 µm bicarbonate powder (BIC-40), by means of a novel bioluminescence-based model that measures microbial load in real time. Briefly, 30 disks were contaminated using the bioluminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain (BLI-P. aeruginosa), treated with Brush (30 s rounds, for 90 s) or BIC-40 (30 s, at 5 mm distance) procedure, and then assessed for microbial load, particularly, biofilm removal and re-growth. Our results showed that Brush and BIC-40 treatment reduced microbial load of about 1 and more than 3 logs, respectively. Furthermore, microbial re-growth onto Brush-treated disks rapidly occurred, while BIC-40-treated disks were slowly recolonized, reaching levels of microbial load consistently below those observed with the controls. In conclusion, we provide evidence on the good performance of BIC-40 as titanium device-decontamination system, the clinical implication for such findings will be discussed. Author Contributions: Conceptualization, E.B., E.C., and F.L.; Methodology, A.M., F.L., and B.C.; Software, A.M., B.C., F.L., and E.C.; Validation, E.C., A.M., and E.B.; Formal analysis, B.C.; Investigation, F.L.; Resources, U.C.; Data curation, U.C. and E.B.; Writing-original draft preparation, A.M. and E.C.; Writing-review and editing, E.B. and U.C; Visualization, B.C. and F.L; Supervision, A.M., B.C., and E.B.; Project administration, E.C., and F.L.; Funding acquisition, U.C.

Surface Treatment of the Dental Implant with Hyaluronic Acid: An Overview of Recent Data

“…It has been shown that sandblasting with aluminum oxide particles with a diameter between 100 and 150 microns favors better osseointegration; the irregular surface increases the osteoconductivity of the metal, otherwise inert, favoring the adhesion and the activity of the osteoblasts. As a result, healing of the bone-implant interface is faster [ 47 ].…”

Novel Approach to Dental Biofilm Management through Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT): A Review

“…Considering its abrasive nature, nowadays, low abrasive agents such as glycine and erythritols are commonly used [ 5 ]. However, in vitro studies pertaining to usage of NaHCO 3 on Titanium disc has shown promising results as an air abrasive [ 55 , 56 ].…”

Material Removal and Surface Integrity Analysis of Ti6Al4V Alloy after Polishing by Flexible Tools with Different Rigidity

“…Furthermore, Ti6Al4V is commonly used in the biomedical field due to its high biocompatibility [ 11 , 12 ], such as artificial hip joints, compression hip screws, dental implants body, bone plate, heart catheter, artificial heart valve for orthodontic surgery, etc. [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Furthermore, low surface roughness is usually required to obtain superior functionality for most of its applications, such as implants and turbine blades [ 18 , 19 ].…”