Peri-implantitis and periodontitis: Use of bacteriological test in dental practice

Peri-implantitis has been defined as an inflame- matory condition involving dental implants, sur- rounding mucosa and bone, which lose sup- porting bone. Although high success rates for endosseous implants have been reported, fail- ures occur, and some implants are lost or re- moved. At least 10% of the failures have been suggested to be the result of peri-implantitis. One of the major causes of the peri-implantitis is the bacterial colonization of implant surfaces but additional risk factors such as periodontitis, poor oral hygiene, tobacco consumption, pre- post operative therapies and genetic suscepti- bility should be considered. In the present study a real-time PCR bases assay was designed to detect and quantify red complex species, then used to investigate 307 periodontal pocket sam- ples from 127 periodontitis patients and 180 con- trols. Results demonstrated a significant higher prevalence of red complex species and increa- sed amount of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola in periodontal pocket of periodontitis. Since a higher risk of peri-implant- itis occurs in periodontally affected patients, detection and treatment of bacteria is a funda- mental objective to ensure dental implant sur- vival.