Electrical Stimulation enhances Antimicrobial Effect against bacterial biofilm in Titanium Implants: Study

In February 2024, the search was carried out across a number of databases, including Google Scholar, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and PubMed/Medline. Furthermore, a manual search of the included papers' reference lists was carried out. In vivo and in vitro studies assessing the impact of electrical stimulation on titanium implants or titanium-based implant materials in lowering biofilm development or adherence as well as eliminating or decreasing the survival of bacterial biofilms were among the qualifying requirements.

The inverse variance approach using random- and fixed-effects models was used to calculate the variability between studies. The prediction interval and I2 statistics were used to evaluate heterogeneity. Using funnel plots, publication bias was assessed qualitatively.

The key outcome of this study directed towards the fact that current and voltage, two electrical stimulation parameters, showed antibacterial activity and had either bacteriostatic or bactericidal effects.

Overall, this study was able to conclude that ES in titanium implants or titanium-based implant material offers antibacterial potential against bacterial biofilms based on the research that was part of this systematic review and meta-analysis. The majority of applications test ES as an extra therapy or in synergism with medications, surfaces, or antimicrobial agents.

Source:

Kreve, S., & Reis, A. C. (2025). Efficacy of electrical stimulation for antimicrobial capacity of titanium materials implants: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Oral Biosciences, 67(2), 100669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.job.2025.100669