MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDY OF SUTURE MATERIALS USED DURING TOOTH EXTRACTION OPERATION

Subject. Suture materials used during the “tooth extraction” operation at the Department of Surgical Dentistry of the Institute of Dentistry named after. E.V. Borovsky, First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov, from 2021 to 2024, and their microbial contamination in the oral cavity. Objectives. Identification of the most commonly used suture materials that is least susceptible to bacterial contamination on the socket of an extracted tooth in the postoperative period. Methodology. Based on the Department of Surgical Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry named after E.V. Borovsky, Sechenov University, conducted two sequential studies: analysis of 74 outpatient records of patients for 2022–2024, who underwent tooth extraction surgery, to identify groups of the most used suture materials; microbiological examination of 4 types of suture material, 12 samples each (n = 48) on the 7th day after removing the suture from the socket of the extracted tooth. Results. According to the results of chart analysis, after tooth extraction surgery, a suture was placed on the socket in 43 patients (58.10%): polypropylene – 10 threads (23.56%); polyglycolide – 5 threads (11.63%); natural material – 1 thread (2.33%); polyamide – 10 threads (23.56%); caprolactam – 13 threads (30.23%); polytetrafluoroethylene – 4 threads (9.30%). Based on these data, a list of suture materials used for further research was compiled: polypropylene, polylactide, polyglycolide. According to the results of a microbiological study of the most frequently encountered microorganisms (Rothia mucilaginosa, Str. Sanguinis, S. epidermidis) as well as the total bacteriological contamination of the suture material on day 7, monofilament suture materials made of polypropylene and caprolactam were less prone to the formation of bacterial plaque (p < 0.05) compared to polyglycolide materials. Conclusion. The materials of choice during tooth extraction surgery, as they are least susceptible to microbial adhesion, can be monofilament surgical threads.