Titanium Electrodes Help Fight Dental Infections

Oct-25-19 Dental implants equipped with titanium electrodes could help fight bacteria with jolts of electricity.

The experiments into the treatment were led by a team from the Swanson School of Engineering, who used titanium electrodes to generate a current that damaged the outer membrane of the Candida albicans microbes. Applying a current to these microbes, which are responsible for most dental implant-based fungal infections, made them more susceptible to the fluconazole medication typically used to fight the infection. In tests, the hybrid treatment destroyed most of the infection-causing microbes without damaging the surrounding tissue.

The team now hopes to develop a method of applying the current to the metal implants, such as attaching a needle to the implant to run the electrochemical therapy or even using a topical method.

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