Biofilm adhesion on polypropylene and nylon sutures in clinical crown lengthening surgery: controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this study was to compare biofilm adherence in polypropylene versus nylon sutures in clinical crown lengthening surgery on anterior teeth. Material and methods. This controlled clinical trial was conducted between April and October 2019 at the Dental Center and the Microbiology Laboratory of the Antenor Orrego Private University, with 30 patients undergoing clinical crown lengthening surgery for prosthetic reasons of an anterior tooth who met the established selection criteria. Participants were chosen using the non-probabilistic selection method for convenience. Reliability was determined by calibration of the principal investigator, using Cohen's Kappa test, both intra-evaluator (0.984) and inter-evaluator (0.978) with an independent collaborator, a microbiology technician from the University. After lengthening the clinical crown, suturing was done by placing two simple interrupted stitches in the same surgical site, one made with propylene and the other made with nylon, with an approximate distance of 1cm between them. Seven days after surgery, in addition to postoperative control, the suture stitches were removed, cutting a 1cm segment exposed in the oral cavity, from each thread, to be analyzed. Bacterial adhesion of polypropylene and nylon yarns was compared using the paired-samples Student's t-test and also compared to a control. A significance level of 5% was considered. Results. There is a significant difference (p=0.001) between the adherence of biofilm in polypropylene suture compared to nylon after clinical crown lengthening surgery. Conclusion. Polypropylene suture adheres less biofilm compared to nylon in clinical crown lengthening surgery.