Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery

<b>Background</b>: Mandibular third molar (M3M) removal and management of postoperative complications represent a common matter of interest in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This potential quantitative study assessed the ability of two types of surgical sutures, Silk and polytetrafluoro...

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Main Authors: Stefano Parrini, Alessandro Bovicelli, Glauco Chisci
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Antibiotics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/3/562
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author Stefano Parrini
Alessandro Bovicelli
Glauco Chisci
author_facet Stefano Parrini
Alessandro Bovicelli
Glauco Chisci
author_sort Stefano Parrini
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background</b>: Mandibular third molar (M3M) removal and management of postoperative complications represent a common matter of interest in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This potential quantitative study assessed the ability of two types of surgical sutures, Silk and polytetrafluoroethylene polymer (PTFE), to carry aerobic and anaerobic bacteria on wounds after mandibular third molar surgery, with a collection of the stitches at the suture removal and study in the laboratory on the basis of colony-forming units. <b>Methods:</b> This prospective quantitative study sampled a total of 10 consecutive healthy patients for mandibular third molar surgery at the Oral Surgery School, Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. The mean age of the patients was 31 years (range 25–40 years), seven patients were male and three patients were female. Inclusion criteria were: presence of a partially impacted mandibular third molar. Exclusion criteria were: smoking and diabetes mellitus. Extraction of the mandibular third molar was performed under local anesthesia: after the third molar surgery, two sutures were applied on the surgical site distally to the second mandibular molar: one single 3/0 silk stitch; one single 3/0 PTFE stitch. No sutures were applied on the release incision. Sutures were removed after 7 days and were immediately conserved and sent to the laboratory to be rated on the basis of colony-forming units (CFUs). CFUs were evaluated and reported on GraphPad Prism and transformed into its base 10 logarithm. Data were analyzed with a non-parametric Wilcoxon test, and <i>p</i>-values < 0.05 were evaluated as statistically significant. <b>Results</b>: All the patients attended the suture removal date, and all the sutures were present in the site. None of the surgical sites presented dehiscence. No stitch loss was reported, and no patient reported mouth washing or tooth brushing in the surgery site. All interventions were uneventful and no major complications were reported after M3M surgery. Bacterial retention resulted as statistically greater in silk sutures rather than PTFE sutures, both in Brain Heart Infusion samples (<i>p</i> = 0.003) and Wilkins-Chalgren anaerobe samples (<i>p</i> = 0.002). <b>Conclusions</b>: We found the PTFE suture to be superior to the silk suture in a reduction in the bacterial biofilm in both aerobic and anaerobic evaluations after M3M surgery.
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spelling doaj.art-34b646abf22b4295a31e9876f67eb7d12023-11-17T09:14:47ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822023-03-0112356210.3390/antibiotics12030562Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar SurgeryStefano Parrini0Alessandro Bovicelli1Glauco Chisci2Oral Surgery School, Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyIndependent Researcher, 53100 Siena, ItalyOral Surgery School, Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy<b>Background</b>: Mandibular third molar (M3M) removal and management of postoperative complications represent a common matter of interest in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This potential quantitative study assessed the ability of two types of surgical sutures, Silk and polytetrafluoroethylene polymer (PTFE), to carry aerobic and anaerobic bacteria on wounds after mandibular third molar surgery, with a collection of the stitches at the suture removal and study in the laboratory on the basis of colony-forming units. <b>Methods:</b> This prospective quantitative study sampled a total of 10 consecutive healthy patients for mandibular third molar surgery at the Oral Surgery School, Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. The mean age of the patients was 31 years (range 25–40 years), seven patients were male and three patients were female. Inclusion criteria were: presence of a partially impacted mandibular third molar. Exclusion criteria were: smoking and diabetes mellitus. Extraction of the mandibular third molar was performed under local anesthesia: after the third molar surgery, two sutures were applied on the surgical site distally to the second mandibular molar: one single 3/0 silk stitch; one single 3/0 PTFE stitch. No sutures were applied on the release incision. Sutures were removed after 7 days and were immediately conserved and sent to the laboratory to be rated on the basis of colony-forming units (CFUs). CFUs were evaluated and reported on GraphPad Prism and transformed into its base 10 logarithm. Data were analyzed with a non-parametric Wilcoxon test, and <i>p</i>-values < 0.05 were evaluated as statistically significant. <b>Results</b>: All the patients attended the suture removal date, and all the sutures were present in the site. None of the surgical sites presented dehiscence. No stitch loss was reported, and no patient reported mouth washing or tooth brushing in the surgery site. All interventions were uneventful and no major complications were reported after M3M surgery. Bacterial retention resulted as statistically greater in silk sutures rather than PTFE sutures, both in Brain Heart Infusion samples (<i>p</i> = 0.003) and Wilkins-Chalgren anaerobe samples (<i>p</i> = 0.002). <b>Conclusions</b>: We found the PTFE suture to be superior to the silk suture in a reduction in the bacterial biofilm in both aerobic and anaerobic evaluations after M3M surgery.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/3/562sutureinfectionPTFEsilksurgerythird molar
spellingShingle Stefano Parrini
Alessandro Bovicelli
Glauco Chisci
Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery
Antibiotics
suture
infection
PTFE
silk
surgery
third molar
title Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery
title_full Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery
title_fullStr Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery
title_full_unstemmed Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery
title_short Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery
title_sort microbiological retention on ptfe versus silk suture a quantitative pilot study in third molar surgery
topic suture
infection
PTFE
silk
surgery
third molar
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/3/562
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AT alessandrobovicelli microbiologicalretentiononptfeversussilksutureaquantitativepilotstudyinthirdmolarsurgery
AT glaucochisci microbiologicalretentiononptfeversussilksutureaquantitativepilotstudyinthirdmolarsurgery