Comparative Analysis of Microorganism Species Succession on Three Implant Surfaces With Different Roughness: An In Vivo Study

Purpose: Because almost all implant systems reveal marginal bone loss and some implants can be affected by periimplantitis, to realize an effective maintenance treatment it is important to understand the biofilm development over different implant surfaces. The objective of this human study is to comparatively analyze the kinetics of microorganism species succession on 3 surfaces. Materials and Methods: Three commercially pure titanium sheets with different roughness were randomly fixed bilaterally on the lingual regions of Hawley-type plates of 6 volunteers. The participants used the apparatuses in the following experimental periods: 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days, and were instructed to remove the acrylic plates only during oral hygiene procedures. Samples of biofilm were harvested from the central areas of each sheet, and the presence of 24 bacterial species was identified using Checkerboard DNA-DNA Hybridization method. Results: The results showed no statistically significant differences with regard to the kinetics of bacterial species succession on the different surfaces, in all periods of time. Rough surfaces were not more prone to colonization by pathogenic bacteria than the smooth surfaces. Conclusion: The surface roughness does not affect the bacterial species succession in the biofilm. The succession of species was similar during all periods of the study. (Implant Dent 2011; 20:e14-e23)