Influence of Surface Characteristics of Different Implant Abutment Materials on Growth of Porphyromonas Gingivalis

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the surface physicochemical properties of polished implant abutment materials and to investigate their relationship with the growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis in vitro. Four groups of the most popular prosthetic materials were used in this study: titanium alloy (Ti), yttria-stabilized zirconium oxide (3Y-TZP), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) composite, and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The plate shape specimens (10 × 10 × 0.5 mm) were polished by applying sequential mechanical polishing. Measurements of water contact angle (WCA), surface free energy (SFE) and roughness were performed. Also, the growth of P.gingivalis was measured via counting colony-forming units to milliliter (CFUs/mL). The WCA means were significantly different among all groups, and the highest hydrophilicity was observed on the PEEK, whereas the lowest on PMMA surface. All measured surfaces had similarly low SFE values, but Ti, 3Y-TZP, and PEEK demonstrated more expressed polar parts. All means of roughness were beyond the micro-level and were lower than 0.2 µm. The highest CFUs/mL was assessed on the PMMA and it was significantly different from others, whereas the lowest was on 3Y-TZP. The surface roughness had a significant impact on CFUs/mL growth.