Improvement in the biological properties of titanium surfaces with low-temperature plasma

Periimplantitis has become a common complication, accompanied by soft tissue inflammation. Porphyromonas gingivalis infection is the major cause of inflammation and progressive bone loss in the jaws. The surface property of titanium implants is a key factor in the alteration of osseointegration and P. gingivalis adhesion. However, the interplay between P. gingivalis and the surface properties of implants, subjected to dierent treatments, is not well described. Therefore, we focused on the surface properties of titanium implants; titanium disks that were autoclaved alone were used as controls. Those that were autoclaved and then subjected to low-temperature plasma (LTP) at 85 W and 13.56 MHz and with 100 mTorr of argon gas at room temperature for 15 min formed the experimental group. LTP-treated disks had smoother surfaces than the control group disks. The physical properties, such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), demonstrated the surface composition was changed after LTP treatment. Further, osteoblastic cell proliferation enhancement was observed in the LTP-treated titanium surfaces. The results also revealed relatively less P. gingivalis adhesion to the LTP-treated disks than on the control disks on spectrophotometry and SEM. These findings clarified that P. gingivalis adhesion is reduced in implants subjected to LTP treatment. Thus, LTP treatment of peri-implantitis with the settings used in the present study is an option that needs further investigation.