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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Oral Biofilm Formation on Different Materials for Dental Implants
Published on: June 24, 2018
Microflora associated with successful and failed orthodontic mini-implants
Stephanie Apel1, Christian Apel, Camillo Morea
1Department of Orthodontics, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Objectives:
Mini-implants are used for orthodontic bone anchorage. The reasons for a potential instability or loss of the mini-implants during treatment are multiple. Among other factors, colonization of implants with pathogenic bacteria is discussed. Therefore, the microflora associated with successful and failed mini-implants has been screened.
Material And Methods:
A total of 76 mini-implants collected from 25 patients were observed during regular orthodontic treatment. Bacterial samples of eight failed and - exemplarily - four successful (control) cases were subjected to a universal Bacteria-directed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction for quantification in combination with a microarray-based identification of 20 selected species.
Results:
The failure rate in the present investigation was 10.5%. The bacterial analysis did not reveal any major difference in the total amount or species composition between control and failed mini-implants. However, Actinomyces viscosus was found in four (100%) and Campylobacter gracilis in three (75%) stable controls, whereas both species were rarely found (12.5%) in failed implants.
Conclusions:
In the present study, the peri-implant sulcus surrounding failed orthodontic mini-implants did not show a specific aggressive bacterial flora.
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