Decontamination of customized laser-microtextured titanium abutments: A comparative in vitro study of different cleaning procedures

The aim of this study was to evaluate different cleaning procedures for customized laser-microtextured titanium abutments. A total of 20 customized lasermicrotextured abutments were randomized into four groups: no cleaning (control group), ultrasonic treatments + autoclave cycle (group 1), ultrasonic treatments + argon plasma (group 2), and only argon plasma (group 3). Surface contaminants were assessed through scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy microanalysis. In the control group, 99.96% of the abutment surfaces were contaminated with organic and inorganic pollutants. Group 3 showed the second highest contamination percentage, with almost 23% of the analyzed surfaces polluted. Samples in groups 1 and 2 were almost clean, with negligible traces of microparticles (0.009% and 0.047% of the surfaces were contaminated, respectively). These results were statistically significant for differences between control and test groups, and between groups 1 and 2 in comparison to 3 (P < .001). Abutment decontamination with argon plasma alone might not be as effective on laser-microtextured surfaces as other cleaning protocols.