Effectiveness and surface changes of different decontamination protocols at smooth and minimally rough titanium...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Surface Chemistry
• Microbiology

Background:

• Titanium microimplants are crucial in dental and orthopedic applications.
• Bacterial contamination poses a significant risk to implant success.
• Effective decontamination protocols are essential to maintain implant integrity and function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of various titanium decontamination protocols.
• To assess the impact of these protocols on surface roughness, chemical composition, and wettability.
• To compare decontamination outcomes between smooth and minimally rough titanium surfaces.

Main Methods:

• Utilized smooth and minimally rough titanium microimplants.
• Incubated microimplants with Escherichia coli.
• Applied seven decontamination protocols: EDTA, chlorhexidine (CHL), gauze soaked in CHL (GCHL), gauze soaked in water (GMQ), scaling (SC), titanium brush (TiB), and implantoplasty (IP).
• Analyzed bacterial load, surface roughness, chemical composition (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy), and wettability.

Main Results:

• Gauze soaked in chlorhexidine (GCHL), scaling (SC), titanium brush (TiB), and implantoplasty (IP) showed the best decontamination results, with no significant differences among them.
• All tested protocols altered surface roughness and chemical composition.
• Implantoplasty (IP) resulted in a smoother and less hydrophilic surface.
• Rougher surfaces (R) generally became more hydrophilic than smooth surfaces (S) after decontamination, except for IP.

Conclusions:

• Multiple decontamination protocols alter titanium surface properties.
• Gauze soaked in chlorhexidine (GCHL), scaling (SC), titanium brush (TiB), and implantoplasty (IP) are effective for titanium microimplant decontamination.
• The choice of protocol impacts surface characteristics, influencing potential clinical outcomes.