Trace elements released from dental implants with periimplantitis: a cohort study

Pure titanium and Ti6Al4V alloy have been in use as dental implant contemporarily. Trace element release from implant bodies is a possible health problem. Well-healed and osseointegrated intrabony implants are only in contact with bone and blood, but in the case of periimplantitis, the possibility of corrosion and the release of trace elements from dental implant surfaces increases due to contact with external factors.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the trace element levels in the blood serum and saliva of patients who have dental implants with periimplantitis compared with the control group.

This study included 25 patients diagnosed with periimplantitis and 25 participants with healthy osseointegrated implants as the control group. The trace element levels in blood serum and saliva were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and results were analyzed statistically.

There is no statistically significant difference between groups for saliva samples except the aluminum (Al) levels of the study group are significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.05) and the mercury (Hg) levels of the study group are significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05). On the other hand, there is a significant decrease in titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), and iodine (I) in the blood serum samples of the study group (p < 0.05). There is no significant difference between the groups for other measured trace elements in the blood serum (p > 0.05).

There is no statistically significant increase in titanium or aluminum levels in the study group compared with the control group.