The effects of surface roughness of composite resin on biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans in the presence of saliva

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of surface roughness of resin composite on biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans in the presence of saliva. To provide uniform surface roughness on composites, disks were prepared by curing composite against 400-grit silicon carbide paper (SR400), 800-grit silicon carbide paper (SR800), or a glass slide (SRGlass). The surface roughness was examined using confocal laser microscopy. For biofilm formation, S. mutans was grown for 24 hours with each disk in a biofilm medium with either glucose or sucrose in the presence of fluid-phase or surface-adsorbed saliva. The adherent bacteria were quantified via enumeration of the total viable counts of bacteria. Biofilms were examined using scanning electron microscopy. This study showed that SR400 had deeper and larger, but fewer depressions than SR800. Compared to SRGlass and SR800, biofilm formation was significantly increased on SR400. In addition, the differences in the effect of surface roughness on the amount of biofilm formation were not significantly influenced by either the presence of saliva or the carbohydrate source. Considering that similar differences in surface roughness were observed between SR400 and SR800 and between SR800 and SRGlass, this study suggests that surface topography (size and depth of depressions) may play a more important role than surface roughness in biofilm formation of S. mutans.