Bacterial colonization on titanium, hydroxyapatite, and amalgam surfaces in vivo.

A study was conducted to evaluate qualitative and quantitative differences in bacterial colonization on titanium, hydroxyapatite, and amalgam surfaces in vivo. Six healthy adult individuals participated in the study. Two pieces each of titanium, hydroxyapatite, and amalgam of similar size were placed in cobalt-chromium splints and kept intra-orally in each individual for 10 min, and 1, 3, 6, 24, and 72 hrs. After removal of the splints, the pieces were rinsed in PBS and transferred to transport medium. After being vortexed, the samples were inoculated on selective and non-selective media for analyses of various facultative and anaerobic bacteria. During the experiment, total viable count increased on all surfaces. The investigated bacterial groups constituted, on average, approximately 60 to 99% of the total viable count on all three types of surfaces in each of the experiments, except in the 10-minute samples, when they constituted around 20 to 30%. Various streptococcal species predominated and usually constituted > 50% of total viable count. Similar colonization patterns of Streptococcus spp., Actinomyces naeslundii, Neisseria spp., Hemophilus parainfluenzae, Fusobacterium spp., and black-pigmented Prevotella spp. were seen at all three types of surfaces. No significant differences among the materials regarding colonization of investigated bacteria were found during the study period. This study failed to show any qualitative and quantitative differences in bacterial colonization among these materials. Titanium, hydroxyapatite, and amalgam do not seem to have a marked influence on the early colonization pattern in vivo.