The characteristics of biofilms in peri-implant disease.

AIM

To describe the microbiota associated with peri-implant disease, with a specific emphasis on the differential diagnosis of the condition.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The potentially relevant literature was preliminarily assessed via scoping searches to find the most appropriate search terms and the most efficient Boolean search algorithm. We identified 29 reports on subjects with osseointegrated implants, with a pathological condition compatible with the definition of "peri-implant disease", and reporting microbiological data from samples taken in affected sites.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

In most studies bacterial samples were obtained by methods that destroy the three-dimensional structure of the biofilm. The samples therefore describe mixtures of bacteria from unspecified districts of biofilm associated with peri-implant diseases. Analyses of such samples with various methods indicate that peri-implant disease maybe viewed as a mixed anaerobic infection. In most cases the composition of the flora is similar to the subgingival flora of chronic periodontitis that is dominated by Gram-negative bacteria. Peri-implant infections may occasionally be linked to a different microbiota, including high numbers of peptostreptococci or staphylococci. Beneficial effects of mechanical and chemical interventions to disrupt the peri-implant biofilm demonstrate that microorganisms are involved in the disease process, even if they may not always be the origin of the condition.