Plasma Cleaning for Implant Surfaces to Improve Implant Success

Surface modifications to dental implant materials play a critical role in facilitating osseointegration to improve implant stability. Physical, chemical, oxidation, electrochemical, deposition, and biochemical methods of surface modification have been experimented, with noteworthy advancements in implant performance being reported using surface-roughening techniques like acid etching and sandblasting. However, challenges, such as bacterial adherence and biofilm formation, continue to persist with conventional methods of modification. Plasma etching is a safe, non-toxic method of surface modification that has been shown to clean implant surfaces, disrupt biofilm formation, facilitate osseointegration, and promote osteoblast attachment without changing surface topography. This review aims to provide an overview of plasma cleaning for dental implant surfaces, highlighting the types of plasma, clinical benefits of plasma treatment, and systems of plasma delivery along with relevant commercially available plasma devices focused on better success of dental implants.