Bacterial contamination of autogenous bone collected by rongeur compared with that collected by bone filter during implant surgery.

The aim was to compare the degree of microbial contamination of autogenous bone collected by a bone filter with that of autogenous bone harvested by a rongeur during implant surgery. Thirty healthy patients had dental implants inserted. A strict aspiration protocol was used during the operation to collect particulate bone with minimal risk of contamination by oral flora. A fragment of bone (mainly from the tuberosity) was also harvested with a rongeur. Samples from both groups were sent to the laboratory for the microbes to be counted. All samples yielded viable micro-organisms. There was no significant difference between the number of aerobes in the bone filter and those in the bone fragment group (p=0.9). However, there were significantly more anaerobes in the bone filter group than in the bone fragment group. There were significantly more micro-organisms (both aerobes and anaerobes) in the bone filter group than the bone fragment group (p=0.0001). Even with the use of a stringent aspiration protocol the degree of bacterial contamination was significantly higher in collected bone debris than in bone harvested by rongeur during implant surgery.