A review on biofilm and biomaterials: Prosthodontics and periodontics perspective

Aim: Biofilm bacteria show coordinated behavior with heterogeneous bacterial communities and complex three-dimensional structures. Biofilm formation on dental implants occurs in a manner similar to that of a natural tooth. Bacterial adhesion occurs after pellicle formation. Therefore, to reduce bacterial adhesion, the biomaterial surface can be modified, thereby lowering the scope of biofilm formation. This review aimed to understand the mechanism of biofilm formation; the most common microorganisms associated with a biofilm, nature of the bonds to the host tissue, and the methods to overcome biofilm formation and associated infectious diseases from dental materials and implants. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on published articles using internet search databases such as PubMed, EBSCO, Cochrane library, Embase, HMIC, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Directory of Open Access using keywords such as biofilm, quorum sensing, implant-related biofilm formation, and biofilm control. Results: A total of 121 articles published from March 2007 to May 2020 were screened during the review process, of which only 33 articles were selected for this study. Surface roughness is directly proportional to bacterial aggregation. PEEK is a modified functional peptide nanoparticle-coated biomaterial that manifests antibacterial activity against gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusions: New strategies are to be followed to control biofilm-mediated implant infections. Clinicians should extensively adopt newer techniques to deal with biofilm-mediated therapeutic challenges.