ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF PERIODONTOPATHIC BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH FAILING IMPLANTS

THE AIM OF THIS STUDY was to examine the subgingival microflora associ ated with failing implants, and to determine their susceptibility to c ommonly used antibiotics in periodontal therapy and dental practice. T hirteen partially edentulous patients with 19 failing implants were se lected. Clinical examination included probing depth, attachment level, gingival index, plaque index, and radiographic analyses. Two subgingi val plaque samples were taken from each failing implant and analyzed f or microbial composition. Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingi valis, and Prevotella intermedia were the prevalent cultivable microfl ora. Antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates was determined by the ag ar dilution technique. Antibacterial activity of penicillin G, amoxici llin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and the combination amoxicillin-metroni dazole was significantly higher than with other antibiotics tested. Th ese data indicated that the commonly-used antibiotics were highly effe ctive against bacteria isolated around failing implants, which would s uggest the use of these antibiotics to control peri-implant infections .