Bacterial adhesion on commercially pure titanium and anatase-coated titanium healing screws: an in vivo human study.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the mechanisms of bacterial interaction with implant materials in the oral cavity. Other surface characteristics, in addition to surface roughness, seem to be extremely important in relation to plaque formation. Different adhesion affinities of bacteria were reported for different materials. Anatase is a nanoparticle that can be applied to titanium surfaces as a coating. The anatase coating gives special characteristics to the implant surface, including some genetic effects on osteoblasts. In this study, the antibacterial effect of anatase is investigated. The aim of this study is to characterize the percentages of surfaces covered by bacteria on commercially pure (cp) titanium and anatase-coated healing screws.


METHODS
Ten patients participated in this study. The protocol of the study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Chieti-Pescara. A total of 20 healing screws (10 test and 10 control screws) were used in the study. The control screws were made of cp titanium, whereas the test screws were coated with anatase. Cleaning procedures and agents for chemical plaque control were not applied to the healing screws for the complete duration of the test period. After 7 days, all healing screws were removed, substituted, and processed under scanning electron microscopy for evaluation of the portions of the surfaces covered by bacteria.


RESULTS
The supracrestal screw surfaces covered by bacteria on test specimens were not significantly lower than those of control screws (P = 0.174). The subcrestal screw surfaces and threads covered by bacteria on test specimens were significantly lower than those of control screws, and P values were 0.001 and 0.000, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Results show that anatase could be a suitable material for coating implant abutments, with a low colonization potential.
Department of Stomatology and Oral Science, Dental School, University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. ascarano@unich.it
Antonio
A
Scarano
Adriano
A
Piattelli
Antonella
A
Polimeni
Donato
D
Di Iorio
Francesco
F
Carinci
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D015921:Dental Implants / Q000382:microbiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014025:Titanium; D055815:Young Adult
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D015921:Dental Implants; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium