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Comparative Microbial Assessment of Different Screw Access Hole Plugging Materials in Screw Retained Implants: An In
Shefali Singla1, Dhananjay Arora1, Mili Gupta2
1Department of Prosthodontics and Crown and Bridge, Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.
Background:
Various materials are available to plug screw access hole (SAH) in a screw retained implant prosthesis. Bacterial contamination of this plugging material and its subsequent leakage can contribute to inflammation of peri-implant area.
Aim:
The present study aimed to evaluate bacterial contamination of cotton (Co), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and cotton dipped in 1% chlorhexidine (Co1%CHX) as SAH plugging material.
Materials And Methods:
Forty implant sites were included in the study. After prosthetic restorations, cotton was used as the primary SAH plugging material in all implant sites. Next month, implant sites were randomly divided into subgroups Co1%CHX and PTFE and given respective plugging material after retrieving the cotton pellet, which was subjected for microbial assay the same day. On the next visit, respective plugging material was retrieved and sent for microbial analysis. SAH was re-plugged with the respective plugging material. Peri-implant sulcular fluid (PISF) was collected from respective sites and stored at - 80°C. After 3 months of the last visit, patients were recalled for the collection of PISF, stored suitably. All the PISF samples were analyzed for interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels via sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results And Conclusion:
Bacterial contamination of cotton was highest and statistically significant when compared with both PTFE and Co1%CHX for both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Co1%CHX with fewer positive samples and lower bacterial counts was found to be a better plugging material than PTFE. However, the leakage from SAH for both PTFE and Co1%CHX was insufficient to cause any significant increase in IL-6 levels in PISF of patients after 3 months.
