Corrosion of intra-oral magnets by multi-species biofilms in the presence and absence of sucrose

The purpose of this study was to determine the corrosive effects of multi-species biofilms on intra-oral magnets in the presence and absence of sucrose. Using pooled human saliva as an inoculum, biofilms were grown on the surfaces of 90 neodymium-iron-boron (Nd2Fe14B) magnets in a constant depth film fermentor under aerobic conditions at 37 °C. The fluid phase was a mucin-containing artificial saliva (delivered at a rate of 0.72/litres day−1), and, after 15 days, 100ml of 10% (w/v) sucrose was added (as three pulses of 33.3 ml) each day for a further 15 days. Six magnets with attached biofilms were removed periodically. On each sampling occasion the numbers of aerobes, anaerobes, streptococci, veillonellae and actinomyces in each biofilm, the pH of the fermentor effluent and the dry mass of the magnets were determined. Addition of sucrose to the fermentor resulted in a fall in pH (from a mean of 6.94 to a mean of 4.96), an increase in the proportion of streptococci and a decrease in the proportion of veillonellae comprising the biofilms. The decrease in mass of the magnets was 28-fold greater in the presence of sucrose than in its absence. The results of this study have shown that the presence of sucrose affects the microbial composition of multi-species biofilms growing on Nd2Fe14B magnets and results in a marked increase in corrosion of the magnets.