Anti-inflammatory Effects of Simvastatin Nanoparticles Coating on Titanium Healing Abutments in Dental Implants

In recent decades, the use of nanoparticles in dentistry, especially in implants, has attracted significant attention. Nanoparticles, due to their unique properties such as a high surface-to-volume ratio, can provide effective anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that help reduce the side effects associated with implant placement. Simvastatin, an anti-inflammatory drug, has emerged as a substance with therapeutic and anti-inflammatory effects in recent studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of simvastatin-coated healing abutments compared to control and aspirin groups.

In this study, 40 titanium healing abutments coated with simvastatin nanoparticles and uncoated abutments were tested. To assess anti-inflammatory effects, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were cultured in RPMI1640 medium with 10% FBS and 1% penicillin-streptomycin antibiotics. The samples (both coated and uncoated healing abutments) were placed in a sterile environment near the cells. A well was also considered for the control group (cells without any material). Cells were then stimulated with LPS (lipopolysaccharide) at a concentration of 45 µg/ml, and IL-6 and TNF-α levels were measured in all groups. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test. A significance level was set at P≤0.05.

The results revealed that the coated group showed a significant reduction in IL-6 levels (13.50±1.10) compared to the uncoated group (29.60±4.22) (p<0.0001). Similarly, the analysis of TNF-α levels showed significant reductions in the coated group (6.03±0.57) compared to the uncoated group (8.26±0.28) (p<0.0001).

The findings of this study demonstrate the positive effect of simvastatin nanoparticles in reducing inflammation in dental implant healing abutments. These results could help improve the design of dental implants and reduce the complications arising from inflammation after surgery.

The use of simvastatin nanoparticles can be considered as an innovative, non-invasive therapeutic approach to improving the quality of implant treatments in dentistry.