Observation of Microflora in the Pockets around Implants

―Comparison with the Cause of Loss of the Tooth―

Abstract

Tooth loss in the regions of implants is the result of numerous factors. This study observed the microflora within pockets surrounding the implant following tooth extraction.
Forty-two peri-implantitis patients were divided into two groups based on the cause of tooth loss:the periodontal disease group and the nonperiodontal disease group. All patients had natural teeth on the contralateral side, which acted as controls, and the implant had pockets deeper than 4 mm. After removing plaque from the implant and tooth, bacteria were sampled from the pockets of four line angles of the experimental implant and control teeth using sterilized paper points. Specimens were anaerobically cultured on HK agar culture medium for 7 days. The number of colonies was counted and PCR was used to identify black colonies. Furthermore, probing depths were measured in the bacterial picking region. Colonies were also examined bacteriologically and Student's t-test as a statistical analysis was performed on data related to the number and types of isolated bacteria.
Bacteria were obtained from all experimental regions. Bacteria of 2.1×10⁶ CFU/ml on average was picked from the pocket around the implant, whereas bacteria of 9.7×10⁶ CFU/ml on average was picked from the periodontal pockets as a control in the periodontal disease group. In the non-periodontal disease group,bacteria of 3.2×10⁴ CFU/ml on average was picked from the pocket around the implant, whereas bacteria of 6.8×10⁴ CFU/ml on average was picked from the periodontal pockets as a control. The average BPR was 1.3×10²CFU/ml in the pocket around the implant in the periodontal disease group. In the non-periodontal disease group, the average BPR was 4.1×10² CFU/ml in the pocket around the implant.
There were differences with the microflora inside pockets surrounding the implant between loss of teeth with periodontal disease and fracture or dental caries.