Microbiological Findings in Early and Late Implant Loss

Abstract

Background Implants are a predictable and well-established treatment method in dentistry. Nevertheless, looking at possible failures of dental implants, early and late loss have to be distinguished. This study aimed at microbiological aspects on surfaces of implants, which had to be removed.Methods 53 specimens of implants from 49 healthy patients have been examined. The groups investigated were implants that had to be removed in the period of osseointegration (early loss) or after the healing period (late loss). Data about the microbiological colonialization of the implant was collected using amplification and high throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.Results Both early and late implant loss was associated with increased levels of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Additionally. Late lost implants showed higher bacterial diversity and in addition higher abundances of Treponema denticola and Tannerella forsythia, while microbial communities of early loss implants were very heterogeneous.Conclusions Pathogens commonly associated with severe periodontitis were found around implants that were lost after a primarily uneventful osseointegration. P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum colonized the implant surface in early and late loss and could therefore be characteristic for implant loss in general. The reasons for early losses could be multifactorial. Trial registration This study was approved by the ethical review committee of the local medical association (Institutional Review Board of the Saarland Medical Council, Germany; ID: 232/12).