A micromorphological/microbiological pilot study assessing three methods for the maintenance of the implant patient

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the ultrasonic piezoelectric inserts of EMS Steel Tip A, EMS Peek, and IS‐TiP‐STS‐3E(©) in reducing peri‐implant bacterial load without compromising the surface of implants during professional oral hygiene in the follow‐up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen implants were examined (Winsix, Biosafin, Ancona, Italy). The implants were divided into five groups and analyzed with a SEM microscope and microbiological analysis to evaluate the possible modification of structure and the bacterial load reduction. RESULTS: The control and A, B, and C test groups were initially contaminated in vitro with Streptococcus mutans. Subsequently, the A, B, and C test groups were treated by an only expert operator in standard conditions. Test groups A, B, and C were inoculated for 3 hr and, furthermore, microbiologically analyzed. CONCLUSION: The gold standard of an implant maintenance is a significant reduction of the bacterial load without becoming aggressive. According to our results, despite the limitations of the study, the authors recommend the least aggressive IS‐TiP‐STS‐3E(©), but combined with an antimicrobial agent to reduce the bacterial load, because the IS‐TiP‐STS‐3E(©) did not show appreciable results versus the EMS Peek in reducing the bacterial load.