A Bone Sample Containing a Bone Graft Substitute Analyzed by Correlating Density Information Obtained by X-ray Micro Tomography with Compositional Information Obtained by Raman Microscopy

Ten Years of Micro-CT in Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery: A Literature Overview

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is a consolidated imaging technology allowing non-destructive three-dimensional (3D) qualitative and quantitative analysis by the observation of microstructures with high resolution. This paper aims at delivering a structured overview of literature about studies performed using micro-CT in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery (MFS) by analyzing the entire set of articles to portray the state of the art of the last ten years of scientific publications on the topic. It draws the scenario focusing on biomaterials, in vitro and in/ex vivo applications, bone structure analysis, and tissue engineering. It confirms the relevance of the micro-CT analysis for traditional research applications and mainly in dentistry with respect to MFS. Possible developments are discussed in relation to the use of the micro-CT combined with other, traditional, and not, techniques and technologies, as the elaboration of 3D models based on micro-CT images and emerging numerical methods. Micro-CT results contribute effectively with whose ones obtained from other techniques in an integrated multimethod approach and for multidisciplinary studies, opening new possibilities and potential opportunities for the next decades of developments.

High Potential of Bacterial Adhesion on Block Bone Graft Materials

Bone graft infections represent a challenge in daily clinics, resulting in increased patient discomfort and graft removal. The aim of this study was to investigate the initial adhesion of five representative pathogens on three different block bone graft materials (xenogeneic, alloplastic and allogeneic) and to assess if chlorhexidine (CHX) can effectively control the initial bacterial adhesion. Three different block bone grafting materials (Tutobone®, Endobon® and human spongiosa) were incubated with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the presence or absence of 0.2% CHX solution. Bacterial adhesion was assessed by the direct counting of the colony-forming units (CFUs) and visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Overall, the selected bacterial species adhered successfully to all tested bone replacement scaffolds, which showed similar bacterial counts. The lg CFU values ranged from 5.29 ± 0.14 to 5.48 ± 0.72 for E. coli, from 4.37 ± 0.62 to 5.02 ± 0.48 for S. aureus, from 4.92 ± 0.34 to 4.95 ± 0.21 for S. mutans, from 4.97 ± 0.40 to 5.22 ± 0.13 for E. faecalis and from 4.23 ± 0.54 to 4.58 ± 0.26 for P. aeruginosa. CHX did not interfere with initial microbial adhesion, and yet it killed all adhered bacterial cells. Thus, CHX can be used to prevent subsequent biofilm infections.