Bacterial leakage along the implant-abutment interface: culture and DNA Checkerboard hybridization analyses.

Objective: Bacterial species have been found harboring the internal surface of dental implants as consequence of their failed connections. The aim of the present study was to compare the detection frequency of bacterial leakage from human saliva through the implant-abutment interface, under non-loading conditions, using either DNA Checkerboard or culture method.
Materials and Methods: Thirty dental implants with hexagonal platforms were connected to pre-machined abutments according to the manufacturers' specifications. The assemblies were individually incubated in human saliva under anaerobic conditions for 7 days at 37°C. Afterward, contents from the inner parts of the implants were collected and evaluated with either DNA Checkerboard (s = 15) or culture (n = 15). Subsequently, identification and quantitation of bacterial species from saliva and implants were carried out for the group evaluated with the DNA Checkerboard method.
Results: Both DNA Checkerboard and culture showed positive signals of bacterial leakage in 6 of the 15 evaluated samples. Capnocytophaga gingivalis and Streptococcus mutans were the most frequently detected species harboring the internal surface of the implants followed by Veillonella parvula.
Conclusion: Occurrence of bacterial leakage along the implant-abutment interface is comparably detected with both DNA Checkerboard hybridization and conventional culture methods.
(© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)