July 2021

Aims: To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of an iodoform-based paste applied to the surface of three types of implant-abutment connections. Materials and Methods: 45 dental implants were used, of which 15 were with Morse Cone tapered (MT), 15 internal hexagon (IH) and 15 external hexagon (EH) connections. Five implants from each of the connection were distributed into three groups according to the antimicrobial material used control group (GC), chlorhexidine (CX) and iodoform paste (PH). Microbial contamination of all dental implants was evaluated through DNA extraction, identification and quantification using qPCR. Results: Connections MT and IH required less PH and CX compared to the control (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0005, respectively), whereas connection EH required the least amount of PH (p = 0.0002). When comparing the antimicrobial materials, there were no differences between the control and CX groups (p = 0.0535, p = 0.0742, respectively) as well as between the control and PH groups for MT and EH connections (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The MT connection was less susceptible to bacterial contamination. In addition, PH proved to be as effective as CX in controlling the growth of P. gingivalis in the connections tested.