Studies on plaque formed on implants

In vivo plaque formation on implant materials was studied. When different implant materials were set on the gingiva, the number of adhering viable bacteria depended on material surface properties 4 hours after setting, but not 48 hours after setting. The formation of pellicle-like thin layers and subsequent covering by lamellarly formed plaque were observed on the surfaces of all materials. Streptococcus species were predominant at the 4-hour setting time but anaerobes increased at the 48-hour setting time; this was common to all materials. The results indicate that surface properties of the implants influence early bacterial adherence, but do not influence bacterial flora or plaque maturation. The subgingival microflora at the neck of implants with clinically normal peri-implant tissues was compared with that at the neck of natural teeth. The bacterial isolates were classified based on their biochemical characteristics. For the spirochaetes, the number was counted directly under light microscopic observation. The most predominant bacterial species was Streptococcus, followed by Actinomyces, Neisseria and then Capnocytophaga at both sites. The ratio of spirochaetes in the microflora was extremely low for both the implant and natural tooth. Such a bacterial distribution pattern closely resembled the hitherto-reported distribution of bacteria existing in a healthy gingival crevicular. This suggested that the microflora in plaque at the neck of a normal implant is basically similar to that at the neck of a natural tooth. In conclusion, plaque formation on implant materials was not influenced by their surface properties in actual oral cavity.