Abstract
Current research on dental implants has mainly focused on the influence of surface roughness on the rate of osseointegration, while studies on the development of surfaces to also improve the interaction of peri-implant soft tissues are lacking. To this end, the first purpose of this study was to evaluate the response of human gingival fibroblasts (hGDFs) to titanium implant discs (Implacil De Bortoli, Brazil) having different micro and nano-topography: machined (Ti-M) versus sandblasted/double-etched (Ti-S). The secondary aim was to investigate the effect of the macrogeometry of the discs on cells: linear-like (Ti-L) versus wave-like (Ti-W) surfaces. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the Ti-S surfaces were characterized by a significantly higher micro and nano roughness and showed the 3D macrotopography of Ti-L and Ti-W surfaces. For in vitro analyses, the hGDFs were seeded into titanium discs and analyzed at 1, 3, and 5 days for adhesion and morphology (SEM) viability and proliferation (Cck-8 and MTT assays). The results showed that all tested surfaces were not cytotoxic for the hGDFs, rather the nano-micro and macro topography favored their proliferation in a time-dependent manner. Especially, at 3 and 5 days, the number of cells on Ti-L was higher than on other surfaces, including Ti-W surfaces. In conclusion, although further studies are needed, our in vitro data proved that the use of implant discs with Ti-S surfaces promotes the adhesion and proliferation of gingival fibroblasts, suggesting their use for in vivo applications.
Highlights
Dental implants have become a safe and reliable solution to replace missing teeth [1].the long-term survival and success of implant therapy are influenced by various parameters [2,3]
The objective of the present study was to analyze if and how the modifications in the surface characteristics of the titanium discs at the macro, micro, and nano-sized level could affect the biological activities of human gingival fibroblasts, considering that the macro topography is directly related to the implant geometry [21]
Sandblasted/dualetched discs (Ti-S) exhibited visible topographic alterations owing to the treatment with titanium oxide particles and the double etching attack that significantly increased the superficial roughness, as shown in the 3D topography (Figure 2)
Summary
Dental implants have become a safe and reliable solution to replace missing teeth [1].the long-term survival and success of implant therapy are influenced by various parameters [2,3]. A proper soft tissue seal between implants and gingiva represents one of these factors, operating as a protective barrier between the oral environment and the underlying peri-implant bone [4]. Surfaces of dental implants are expected to demonstrate good soft-tissue biocompatibility. In order to achieve good performance, some properties of the implant surfaces are considered critical issues for the host–implant integration. The bacterial interaction is influenced by the nanoand micro-topography of the fixture; the ideal material should promote the proliferation of mammalian cells, but without increasing the biofilm development [17,18]
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