Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the ultrasonic piezoelectric inserts of EMS Steel Tip A, EMS Peek, and IS-TiP-STS-3E© in reducing peri-implant bacterial load without compromising the surface of implants during professional oral hygiene in the follow-up.
Materials and methods: Thirteen implants were examined (Winsix, Biosafin, Ancona, Italy). The implants were divided into five groups and analyzed with a SEM microscope and microbiological analysis to evaluate the possible modification of structure and the bacterial load reduction.
Results: The control and A, B, and C test groups were initially contaminated in vitro with Streptococcus mutans. Subsequently, the A, B, and C test groups were treated by an only expert operator in standard conditions. Test groups A, B, and C were inoculated for 3 hr and, furthermore, microbiologically analyzed.
Conclusion: The gold standard of an implant maintenance is a significant reduction of the bacterial load without becoming aggressive. According to our results, despite the limitations of the study, the authors recommend the least aggressive IS-TiP-STS-3E© , but combined with an antimicrobial agent to reduce the bacterial load, because the IS-TiP-STS-3E© did not show appreciable results versus the EMS Peek in reducing the bacterial load.
Keywords: implants surface; maintenance therapy; osteoblasts; peri-implantitis; piezoelectric ultrasonic.
© 2020 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.