Dentistry

Abstract

The Influence of Surface Roughness of Titanium on Bacterial Accumulation/Adhesion In Vitro

Georg Tellefsen, Lars Linder, Anders Liljeborg and Gunnar Johannsen

Bacterial biofilm formation on oral surfaces is a prerequisite for the development of diseases in the oral cavity, including periimplantitis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of titanium roughness and the composition of the growth medium on biofilm formation.

Single strain biofilm formation on titanium was studied in vitro with Streptococcus mutans IB. Commercially pure titanium specimens (1.0 × 1.0 × 0.1 cm) which are polished, sandblasted or untreated were used. Surface roughness was measured with a profilometer and expressed as a roughness value (Râ��). The titanium specimens were incubated in proteose-peptone medium containing either glucose or sucrose. Biofilm formation was initiated by inoculation with bacteria from a 17 h glucose-grown-culture. After 120 minutes bacteria were removed by washing and sonication from the titanium and the desorbed bacteria were quantified.

The biofilm obtained from the sucrose treated titanium contained 2.07 × 108 ± 1.97 × 108 bacteria and 3.95 × 105 ± 4.0 × 105 for the glucose treated titanium. No significant effect of the pretreatment of the titanium surface was observed. Sucrose, but not titanium surface roughness, played a significant role for S. mutans biofilm formation on titanium.