Influence of physical-chemical properties of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta discs for dental implants printed at different angles on the microbial profile

Abstract

The physicochemical properties of the surface of a dental implant dictate bacterial adhesion and colonization. In recent years, printed implants have become increasingly popular in the market; however, the literature still lacks information regarding the influence of different printing angles and chemical compositions on the characteristics of these implants and their consequent microbial profile. Thus, this project aims to compare in vitro the influence of macrostructural and microstructural physical properties of discs printed by selective laser melting, differing in chemical composition and printing angle, on microbial profile and diversity. For this purpose, discs (Ø 12.0 mm x 1 mm) will be fabricated and divided into G1: Ti-6Al-4V 0o, G2: Ti-6Al-4V 45o, G3: Ti-6Al-4V 90o, G4: TNZT 0o, G5: TNZT 45o, and G6: TNZT 90o. Their chemical composition and macro- and microstructural physical properties will be analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface roughness and linearity by laser confocal microscopy, and after contact of the discs with unstimulated human saliva, microbial profile and diversity will be assessed through sequencing of the bacterial 16S rDNA gene. The obtained data will be subjected to parametric or non-parametric tests according to the data distribution (±=0.05).