The Effects of Various Cleaning Methods on Roughness of Titanium Plate Surfaces and on Attachment and Morphology of Cultured Cells

The purpose of this study was to examine the attachment and growth of cultured cells on the surfaces of titanium plates following polishing by various cleaning methods. The material used in the study was a titanium plate with 99.5% titanium. The titanium plate surfaces was painted with a waterproof felt pen. The paint was removed with various cleaning methods [hand curet scaler (HSc), ultrasonic scaler (USc), Quickjet: powder water spray device (QJ), rubber cup in combination with polishing paste (RC), plastic scaler (PSc) and untreated titanium plate was used as a control (C) ]. The surface roughness was measured using a surface roughness and profile analyzing system. The polished titanium plates were immersed and cultured in a cell suspension of human gingival fibroblasts or osteoblasts. Counts of attached cells were made at 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours. The titanium plates were then observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). There were statistically sig-nificant differences between HSc and each value of QJ, RC, PSc or the control (C), and also between USc and each value of RC, PSc or C. SEM observa-tion showed that titanium surfaces polished by HSc or USc had significanly reduced numbers of attached cells as compared to the untreated control surface. The titanium plate polished with QJ showed significantly fewer attached cells than the control surface, but there was no influence on cell form. The cell form and adherence on the titanium cleaned by RC or PSc were well maintained. These results suggest that cultured cells attached to smooth titanium surfaces were in excellent condi-tion as compared with those attached to rough titanium surfaces in vitro. The cleaning methods employing a rubber cup in combination with polish-ing paste or a plastic scaler appeared to be effective for cleaning the titanium surface contaminated with plaque.