Colonization dynamics of subgingival microbiota in recently installed dental implants compared to healthy teeth in the same individual: a 6-month prospective observational study

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the colonization dynamics of subgingival microbiota established over six months around newly installed dental implants in periodontally healthy individuals, compared with their corresponding teeth. METHODOLOGY: Seventeen healthy individuals assigned to receive single dental implants participated in the study. Subgingival biofilm was sampled from all implant sites and contralateral/ antagonist teeth on days 7, 30, 90, and 180 after implant installation. Microbiological analysis was performed using the Checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization technique for detection of classical oral taxa and non-oral microorganisms. Significant differences were estimated by Mann-Whitney and Friedman tests, while associations between implants/teeth and target species levels were assessed by linear regression analysis (LRA). Significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: Levels of some species were significantly higher in teeth compared to implants, respectively, at day 7 ( V.parvula , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; Milleri streptococci , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; Capnocytophaga spp., [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; E.corrodens , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; N. mucosa , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; S.noxia , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; T.socranskii , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; H.alvei , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; and Neisseria spp., [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ), day 30 ( V.parvula , [Formula: see text] vs 10 (5) ; Capnocytophaga spp., [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; F.periodonticum , [Formula: see text] vs 10 (6) ; S.noxia , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; H.alvei , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; and Neisseria spp., [Formula: see text] vs 10 (6) ), day 120 ( V.parvula , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ; S.noxia , [Formula: see text] vs 0; and T.socranskii , [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ), and day 180 ( S.enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi, [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text] ) (p<0.05). Implants showed significant increases over time in the levels of F.nucleatum , Gemella spp., H.pylori , P.micra , S.aureus , S.liquefaciens , and T.forsythia (p<0.05). LRA found that dental implants were negatively correlated with high levels of S. noxia and V. parvula (β=-0.5 to -0.3; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Early submucosal microbiota is diverse and only a few species differ between teeth and implants in the same individual. Only 7 days after implant installation, a rich microbiota can be found in the peri-implant site. After six months of evaluation, teeth and implants show similar prevalence and levels of the target species, including known and new periodontopathic species.