Comparison of two full‐mouth approaches in the treatment of peri‐implant mucositis: a pilot study

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that an additional full-mouth disinfection results in a greater clinical and microbiological improvement compared with sole mechanical debridement within one session in patients with peri-implant mucositis and treated chronic periodontitis. The study included 13 partially edentulous patients (mean age 51.5 years) with treated chronic periodontitis and 36 dental implants with mucositis (bleeding on probing and/or a gingival index > or =1 at least at one site at baseline, absence of peri-implant bone loss during the last 2 years before baseline). After randomized assignment to a test and a control group, patients received a one-stage full-mouth scaling with or without chlorhexidine. Clinical and microbiological examination was performed at baseline, after 1, 2, 4 and 8 months. Additional microbial samples were taken 24 h after treatment. Microbiological analysis was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Both treatment modalities resulted in significant reductions of probing depth at implant sites after 8 months, with no significant group differences. The bacteria at implants and teeth could be reduced in every group 24 h after treatment; however, this reduction was not significant after 8 months. Both treatment modalities led to an improvement of the clinical parameters and a temporary reduction of the microflora at implants with mucositis, but without significant inter-group differences after 8 months.