Zirconia Dental Implants Surface Electric Stimulation Impact on Staphylococcus aureus

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 11; p. 5719
• Main Authors: Rodrigues, Flávio, Pereira, Helena F., Pinto, João, Padrão, Jorge, Zille, Andrea, Silva, Filipe S., Carvalho, Óscar, Madeira, Sara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.06.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Aesthetics; Bacteria; Bacterial Adhesion; Biocompatibility; Biofilms; Biofilms - drug effects; Biofilms - growth & development; Dental implants; Dental Implants - microbiology; Electric currents; Electric Stimulation - methods; Gram-positive bacteria; Humans; Implant dentures; Laser etching; Mechanical properties; Peri-Implantitis - microbiology; Peri-Implantitis - therapy; Silver; Silver - chemistry; Silver - pharmacology; Staphylococcus aureus; Surface Properties; Titanium; Zirconium - chemistry; Zirconium oxide; Germany; electric current; biofilms; Staphylococcus aureus; dental implant
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25115719

Tooth loss during the lifetime of an individual is common. A strategy to treat partial or complete edentulous patients is the placement of dental implants. However, dental implants are subject to bacterial colonization and biofilm formation, which cause an infection named peri-implantitis. The existing long-term treatments for peri-implantitis are generally inefficient. Thus, an electrical circuit was produced with zirconia (Zr) samples using a hot-pressing technique to impregnate silver (Ag) through channels and holes to create a path by LASER texturing. The obtained specimens were characterized according to vitro cytotoxicity, to ensure ZrAg non-toxicity. Furthermore, samples were inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus using 6.5 mA of alternating current (AC). The current was delivered using a potentiostat and the influence on the bacterial concentration was assessed. Using AC, the specimens displayed no bacterial adhesion (Log 7 reduction). The in vitro results presented in this study suggest that this kind of treatment can be an alternative and promising strategy to treat and overcome bacterial adhesion around dental implants that can evolve to biofilm.