Biofilm formation on dental implants with a hybrid surface microtopography: An in vitro study in a validated multispecies dynamic biofilm model.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate biofilm formation on hybrid titanium implants (HS), with moderately rough and turned surface topographies.

Materials And Methods: A validated dynamic in vitro multispecies biofilm model, based on bacterial growth under flow and shear conditions resembling the oral cavity, was used to evaluate biofilm formation on the tested implant surfaces. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were used to compare the biofilm structure and microbial biomass deposited on either the moderately rough or the turned surface of HS. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to evaluate the total bacterial counts and counts of each specific bacterium in biofilms formed on implants with either the moderately rough or the turned surfaces, as in the hybrid titanium implants, after 24, 48 and 72 h. A general linear model was applied to compare the CLSM and qPCR results between the tested implant surfaces.

Results: A significantly higher bacterial biomass grew on the moderately rough implant surfaces, compared to the turned surface area of HS implants (p < .05), at all incubation times, as evidenced with both CLSM and SEM. qPCR analysis also demonstrated an important increase in the total and specific bacterial counts in moderately rough surface implants at the three incubation times.

Conclusions: Implant surface topography (moderately rough versus turned) significantly influenced in vitro biofilm formation in terms of biofilm structure, bacterial biomass and quantity of the specific species selected for the model used.