Platelet Rich Plasma

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Platelet Rich Plasma

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is exactly what the name suggests. The preparation is a by-product of blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets.

Why All the Excitement About PRP?

PRP permits the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at a greatly accelerated rate. During the healing process, the body rushes many cells and cell-types to the wound in order to initiate the healing process. One of those cell types is platelets. Platelets perform many functions, including formation of a blood clot and release of growth factors (GF) into the wound. These GF (platelet derived growth factors PDGF, 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 sequestered into the wound, the more stem cells stimulated to produce new host tissue. Thus, one can easily see that PRP permits the body to heal faster and more efficiently.

PRP Has Many Clinical Applications

Bone grafting for dental implants. This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge augmentation procedures, and closure of cleft, lip, and palate defects. Repair of bone defects created by removal of teeth or small cysts. 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 55 cc 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.
  • Ease of use:PRP is easy to handle and improves the ease of application of bone substitute materials and bone grafting products by making them more gel-like.