NCT07892313

The goal of this clinical study was to learn whether the design of a dental implant affects how the gums around it respond to treatment of peri-implant mucositis, an early and reversible inflammation of the soft tissue around a dental implant. The study included systemically healthy, non-smoking adults with one-piece implants (made as a single unit) or two-piece bone-level implants (with a separate connecting part above the implant). The main questions were whether inflammation-related proteins in the fluid around the implant (interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-10, matrix metalloproteinase-8, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1), clinical signs of inflammation, and selected bacteria changed differently after treatment around one-piece and two-piece implants.

Researchers compared implants with healthy gums and implants with peri-implant mucositis for each implant design, and compared the treatment response of the two designs over 3 months. All participants had a gum and implant examination, including plaque, bleeding, and pocket depth measurements and an assessment of gum thickness around the implant, and gave small samples of fluid and plaque from around the implant using paper strips and paper points. Participants with peri-implant mucositis received professional cleaning of the implant with an ultrasonic device with plastic-capped tips, a single application of chlorhexidine gel, and personal oral hygiene instructions, and returned 1 and 3 months later for repeat examinations and sampling.