Antimicrobial Efficacy and Permeability of Various Sealing Materials in Two Different Types of Implant–Abutment Connections

Abstract

The presence of a microgap along an implant–abutment connection (IAC) is considered the main disadvantage of two-piece implant systems. Its existence may lead to mechanical and biological complications. Different IAC designs have been developed to minimise microleakage through the microgap and to increase the stability of prosthodontic abutments. Furthermore, different sealing materials have appeared on the market to seal the gap at the IAC. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy and permeability of different materials designed to seal the microgap, and their behaviour in conical and straight types of internal IACs. One hundred dental implants with original prosthodontic abutments were divided into two groups of fifty implants according to the type of IAC. Three different sealing materials (GapSeal, Flow.sil, and Oxysafe gel) were applied in the test subgroups. The contamination of implant–abutment assemblies was performed by a joint suspension containing Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. It was concluded that the IAC type had no significant influence on microleakage regarding microbial infection. No significant difference was found between the various sealing agents. Only one sealing agent (GapSeal) was found to significantly prevent microleakage. A complete hermetic seal was not achieved with any of the sealing agents tested in this study.

Prevention of internal bacterial colonization of dental implants: A comparative longitudinal observational study

“…A recently published in vitro study on 100 dental implants compared the sealant used in the present study (GS) with a gel based on active oxygen technology with antimicrobial activity, a sealant based on a polydimethylsiloxane matrix with the addition of thymol, a negative control (no sealing), and a positive control group (chlorhexidine gel) (Smojver et al, 2022). The different groups were exposed to a mixture of strains of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus for 14 days.…”

“…Similar in vivo studies included 15 patients with 60 implants (Carinci et al, 2019) and 30 patients contributing with 1 implant each (Paolantonio et al, 2008). Five in vitro studies had 6 to 30 implants in their groups (Cardoso et al, 2016; Duarte et al, 2006; Nayak et al, 2014; Proff et al, 2006; Smojver et al, 2022). Thus, we feel comfortable about the amount of 30 included patients with two implants each in the present in vivo study.…”

Bioinspired Synthesis of Ag Nanoparticles onto Polytetrafluoroethylene with Enhanced Antibacterial Activity for Dental Implant Application

“…Other methods and materials such as chlorhexidine gel, GapSeal gel, Oxysafe gel, and Flow.sil are applied to prevent the bacterial leakage. However, a complete hermetic seal cannot be achieved with any of the available sealing agents [5,6]. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel antibacterial materials to help solve this problem.…”