In Vivo Collection and SEM Identification of Oral Biofilm Using Indirect Composite Prototype Restorations. Clinical and Laboratory Study

Abstract Background: The oral ecosystem is a dynamic environment inhabited by more than 700 microbial taxa. Recent studies report that multispecies oral biofilms develop on the surface of resin composites leading to degradation of its organic matrix and altered structural stability of the restoration. Aim: To examine the efficacy of a novel clinical approach to investigating in vivo formed biofilms on resin composite surfaces. Materials and methods: The clinical protocol of this study implemented indirect composite molar restorations (from resin material Filtek Z250, 3M ESPE) as intraoral biofilm carriers (test devices). We recruited for the experiment 5 consenting adult subjects with indications for indirect molar restoration. For each subject we fabricated 4 indirect restorations, 3 of which dedicated to different intraoral duration – 3, 7, and 14 days. All composite carriers were fixed temporarily for the intended time period and consecutively replaced. The detached carriers were prepared for microscope analysis at each time interval. The fourth composite carrier was used as the definitive restoration. Results: The timeline of the biofilm formation and the microbial morphology were associated with previous studies of in vivo bacterial colonisation. A correlation between the plaque formation cycle and the DMFt indices of the subjects was established. Conclusions: The implementation of indirect composite restorations as intraoral biofilm carrier offers valuable contribution to the real time investigation of in vivo biofilm accumulation.