Oral Surgery

 

 

Procedures

Platelet Rich Plasma

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is a by-product of blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets. New technology permits the doctor to harvest and produce a sufficient quantity of platelets from a small amount of blood drawn from the patient while they are having outpatient surgery.

PRP permits the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at a greatly accelerated rate. Platelets form blood clots and releases growth factors (GF) into the wound. These GF (platelet derived growth factors PGDF, transforming growth factor beta TGF, and insulin-like growth factor ILGF) function to assist the body in repairing itself by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissue. The more growth factors released into the wound, the more stem cells are stimulated to produce new host tissue. Thus, PRP permits the body to heal faster and more efficiently.
 
 

PRP Has Many Clinical Applications

PRP may be used in certain bone grafting, soft tissue grafting, or dental implant cases. This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge augmentation procedures, and repair of bone defects. PRP can also be used to repair of fistulas between the sinus cavity and mouth.
 
 

PRP Also Has Many Advantages

Safety: PRP is a by-product of the patient's own blood, therefore, disease transmission is not an issue.

Convenience: PRP can be generated in the doctor's office while the patient is undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure, such as placement of dental implants.

Faster healing: The supersaturation of the wound with PRP, and thus growth factors, produces an increase of tissue synthesis and thus faster tissue regeneration.

Cost effectiveness: Since PRP harvesting is done with only a snall amount of blood in the doctor's office, the patient need not incur the expense of the harvesting procedure in hospital or at the blood bank.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About PRP

Should PRP be used in all bone-grafting cases? Not always. In some cases, there is no need for PRP. However, in the majority of cases, application of PRP to the graft will increase the final amount of bone present in addition to making the wound heal faster and more efficiently.

Can PRP be used alone to stimulate bone formation? No. PRP must be mixed with either the patient's own bone, a bone substitute material such as demineralized freeze-dried bone, or a synthetic bone product.
 
Are there any contraindications to PRP? Very few. Patients with bleeding disorders or hematologic diseases do not qualify for this in-office procedure. Check with your surgeon.