Inhibition of Plaque Formation on the Titanium Surface by Anti-bacterial Varnish

Abstract

For the dental implant to be successful, the implant fixture should be placed in jaw bone with optimal quantity and quality under good surgical technique, and the prosthetic superstructure should be constructed under the principle of optimum functional occlusion and passive fitness. Besides, bacterial plaque should be controlled to prevent peri-implant tissue inflammation and subsequent bone loss. Bacterial contamination on implant surface starts as soon as any part of dental implant system are communicated with oral environment following the second stage surgery in 2-stage implant system or implant placement in 1-stage implant system1). Especially, it was shown there is inflammatory infiltrates in peri-implant tissue around the implant fixture-abutment interface2). The reduction in plaque build-up is of major importance to prevent periimplant mucositis around oral implants3). Therefore, bacterial contamination upon implant placement and plaque formation around implant superstructure should be prevented from the stage of implant surgery. In preventing and treating dental infection, the substantivity of the anti-microbial agent is of utmost importance since the agent needs a certain amount of contact time with microorganisms in order to inhibit or kill them. Substantivity is a measure of the contact time between a substance and a substrate in a given medium. For any degree of substantivity, adherence of substance to substrate should be greater or more prolonged than would be expected with simple mechanical deposition4). Chlorhexidine has been known as one of very effective anti-microbial agents in the prevention and treatment of gingivitis and inhibiting recolonization of plaque bacteria5,6). One reason chlorhexidine exerts a greater anti-plaque effect than other antimicrobials is its remarkable ability to adsorb to tooth and gingival surfaces and then releases into the oral cavity over time at therapeutic levels7). Chlorhexidine is a synthetic cationic detergent with great bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity against Gram positive and negative microorganisms and against yeast cells, has a great affinity for the cell wall of microorganisms and changes the surface structures. Osmotic equilibrium is lost, and as a con-