Efficacy of antibacterial sealant to prevent microlekage at the implant superstructure interface – An in vivo study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of antibacterial sealants to prevent microleakage at the implant superstructure interface. Materials and Methods: Around twenty patients were selected after a thorough investigation with lower missing teeth (1st and 2nd premolars 1st and 2nd molars) by inclusion criteria. The patients were divided into two groups Group A (10 patients)– Control group and Group B (10 patients)-test group. The implants were placed with proper surgical protocol in all the patients except that in the test group antibacterial sealant was used before putting the coverscrew. The implants were allowed to osseointegrate for 3 months after which swabs were collected from the interior of the implant once the cover screw was removed. The swabs collected from all the patients were immediately transported to the microbiology laboratory by placing in 1 ml of phosphate buffered saline. The swabs were inoculated on brain heart infusion and McKonkeys medium and processed for routine culture and sensitivity. The identification of the isolates was done by standard microbiological methods. The data thus obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using t-tests for equality. Results: Microbial growth was found in both the groups, but lesser variation in colony-forming units was observed in the test group where antibacterial sealant was used. Conclusions: It was concluded that in spite of using antibacterial sealants; some amount of microleakage was still observed.