Dental implants are a successful form of treatment for patients. But according to a study published in 2005, 5% to 10% of all dental implants fail. The reasons are several-fold – mechanical problems, poor connection to the bones in which they are implanted, infection or rejection. When failure occurs the dental implant must be removed.
The main reason for dental implant failure is peri-implantitis. This is the destructive inflammatory process affecting the soft and hard tissues surrounding dental implants. This occurs when pathogenic microbes in the mouth and oral cavity develop into biofilms, which protects them and encourages growth. Peri-implantitis is caused when the biofilms develop on dental implants.
A research team comprising scientists from the School of Biological Sciences, Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and the School of Engineering at the University of Plymouth have joined forces to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a new nano-coating for dental implants to reduce the risk of peri-implantitis.
In the study, the research team created a new approach using a combination of silver, titanium oxide and hydroxyapatite nano-coatings. The application of the combination to the surface of titanium alloy implants successfully inhibited bacterial growth and reduced the formation of bacterial biofilm on the surface of the implants by 97.5%.
Not only did the combination result in the effective eradication of infection, it created a surface with anti-biofilm properties which supported successful integration into surrounding bone and accelerated bone healing.
Professor Christopher Tredwin, head of Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry, commented: "In this cross-faculty study we have identified the means to protect dental implants against the most common cause of their failure. The potential of our work for increased patient comfort and satisfaction, and reduced costs, is great and we look forward to translating our findings into clinical practice."
The University of Plymouth was the first university in the UK to secure Research Council Funding in Nanoscience and this project is the latest in a long line of projects investigating nanotechnology and human health.
Nanoscience activity at the University of Plymouth is led by Professor Richard Handy, who has represented the UK on matters relating to the Environmental Safety and Human Health of Nanomaterials at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
He commented: "As yet there are no nano-specific guidelines in dental or medical implant legislation and we are, with colleagues elsewhere, guiding the way in this area. The EU recognises that medical devices and implants must: perform as expected for its intended use, and be better than similar items in the market; be safe for the intended use or safer than an existing item, and; be biocompatible or have negligible toxicity."
He added: "Our work has been about proving these criteria which we have done in vitro. The next step would be to demonstrate the effectiveness of our discovery, perhaps with animal models and then human volunteers."
Dr Alexandros Besinis lecturer in mechanical engineering at the School of Engineering, University of Plymouth, led the research team. He commented: "Current strategies to render the surface of dental implants antibacterial with the aim to prevent infection and peri-implantitis development, include application of antimicrobial coatings loaded with antibiotics or chlorhexidine.
However, such approaches are usually effective only in the short-term, and the use of chlorhexidine has also been reported to be toxic to human cells. The significance of our new study is that we have successfully applied a dual-layered silver-hydroxyapatite nanocoating to titanium alloy medical implants which helps to overcome these risks."
Abstract
One of the most common causes of implant failure is peri-implantitis, which is caused by bacterial biofilm formation on the surfaces of dental implants. Modification of the surface nanotopography has been suggested to affect bacterial adherence to implants. Silver nanoparticles are also known for their antibacterial properties. In this study, titanium alloy implants were surface modified following silver plating, anodisation and sintering techniques to create a combination of silver, titanium dioxide and hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocoatings. Their antibacterial performance was quantitatively assessed by measuring the growth of Streptococcus sanguinis, proportion of live/dead cells and lactate production by the microbes over 24 h. Application of a dual layered silver–HA nanocoating to the surface of implants successfully inhibited bacterial growth in the surrounding media (100% mortality), whereas the formation of bacterial biofilm on the implant surfaces was reduced by 97.5%. Uncoated controls and titanium dioxide nanocoatings showed no antibacterial effect. Both silver and HA nanocoatings were found to be very stable in biological fluids with material loss, as a result of dissolution, to be less than 0.07% for the silver nanocoatings after 24 h in a modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer. No dissolution was detected for the HA nanocoatings. Thus, application of a dual layered silver–HA nanocoating to titanium alloy implants creates a surface with antibiofilm properties without compromising the HA biocompatibility required for successful osseointegration and accelerated bone healing.
Authors
A Besinis, SD Hadi, HR Le, C Tredwin, RD Handy
[link url="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170324104836.htm"]University of Plymouth material[/link]
[link url="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17435390.2017.1299890"]Nanotoxicology abstract[/link]