Microbial Differences Between Progressive and Stable Peri-Implantitis
Abstract Peri-implantitis has a polymicrobial etiology and is a major cause of dental implant loss. Various clinical protocols for its prevention and treatment have been proposed; however, some cases show a rapid progression with non-resolving clinical symptoms. To clear a means of differentiating between such cases, the implants with peri-implantitis in this study were categorized as the progressive group and the stable group and that two kinds of samples were obtained from the same subjects (n= 20). The microbiome was analyzed through pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The stable group was found to have a diverse bacterial flora when compared to the progressive group. Porphyomonas, Fusobacterium, Treponema, Tannerella, and other periodontal pathogens were abundant in the progressive group, while Lactobacillales and Bifidobacterium were abundant in the stable group. These findings suggest that the bacterial flora dominated by these periodontal pathogens caused disease progression, while the bacterial flora dominated by Lactobacillales and Bifidobacterium stabilized the disease. Thus, the disease progression and stability of peri-implantitis may be influenced by the bacterial flora of the peri-implant pocket.