Microbial challenges from tooth surface to implant damage: A review

Dental implants have become a common dental practice that dentists encounter daily in clinical settings. With this widespread use, peri-implant diseases have also become increasingly prevalent. Similar to periodontitis in natural teeth, peri-implant diseases are primarily caused by microorganisms, which are also referred to as peri-implant pathogens. This causal relationship forms the foundation of our review. This article provides an overview of peri-implant diseases, examines the microbial profile around implant surfaces in both healthy and diseased states, and compares this profile to that of natural teeth. A review of several studies on the microbial profile of dental implants indicates that key periodontal pathogens, including species from the red complex and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, are frequently detected at high percentages in cases of peri-implantitis. However, peri-implantitis is also associated with microorganisms not typically linked to periodontitis. Despite the evident similarities between the microflora of dental implants and natural teeth, it remains premature to conclude that peri-implantitis and periodontitis share an identical microbial profile.