Mouth infections are currently regarded as the main reason why dental implants fail. A piece of research by the UPV/EHU has succeeded in developing coatings capable of preventing potential bacterial infection and should it arise, eliminate it as well as providing implants with osseointegrating properties, in other words, ones that facilitate anchoring to the bone.
The quest for surfaces capable of preventing bacterial colonisation and adhesion in the area surrounding the implant “is a subject of undoubted interest, borne out by the huge number of publications that have been developed in this field,” explained Beatriz Palla, researcher in the Biomaterials Group of the UPV/EHU’s Department of Polymer Science and Technology. The fact is that “about 10% of implants have to be removed due to osseointegration problems or to the onset of infections,” she added.
When it comes to designing strategies to combat these problems, one has to bear in mind the challenge posed by providing the surface of titanium implants with antibacterial properties, and at the same time, by the tremendous resistance that bacterial strains are capable of developing to conventional therapies with antibiotics.
To view the full story, please visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161226175346.htm
