by Dr. Huguette Duteau

One crucial aspect in dental care is the need for replacement and regeneration of tissues in a mouth that has been altered by disease or injury. Until now, the best type of healing was to allow the mouth to mend on its own. While the body is an amazing machine that can heal beautifully under the right circumstances, a patient could experience pain or inflammation in the healing process. The introduction of bone grafts can help in rebuilding the surgical sites, more specifically in locations where a tooth has just been extracted.  

Bone grafts have been used to fill voids in the tooth socket to rebuild the bone for procedures such as implants or increasing the ridge for better retention of dentures. The problem with bone grafts is that most often, they do not come from the patient’s own body. The body could, therefore, perceive it as a foreign material introduced into its tissues which might cause chronic inflammation and pain, or worse, start a cascade for autoimmune problems.  

What if there was a replacement material that comes from a patient’s own body (autologous) and that can provide replacement in the patient’s oral tissues? Fortunately, we are now able to isolate a concentrate from the patient’s blood that can provide regeneration of oral tissues. One such replacement is the use of Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) which is a concentrate of the blood that is obtained by centrifugation.  

This concentrate is made of a matrix platelet-rich fibrin with various growth factors that promote healing of the area in need of repair. The advantages to placing PRF in a surgical site are numerous. It is biocompatible (from the person’s own blood), so the patient’s body recognizes it as its own. PRF also has the benefit of acting as a reservoir of tissue growth factors in a damaged site. Its fibrin matrix acts as a framework that holds these growth factors and regenerative cells, which in turn, act as stimulators on cell growth and wound healing.  

PRF, therefore, promotes the proliferation and differentiation of tissues in an area where repair and healing are needed. Common post-surgical complications such as inflammation and swelling are reduced which leads to a significant decrease in post-surgical pain and infection. PRF has also been shown to be a valuable asset in periodontal (gum) disease for bone regeneration, remodeling and the repair of gingival recession.  

PRF has proven to offer multiple clinical potentials in regenerative dental therapy. It has shown to promote tissue repair and to quickly stimulate tissue healing at the site of surgery. In addition, it allows the healing time to be reduced significantly. The ease using PRF, combined with the low cost and its source from the patient’s own blood, makes it an ideal material for tissue healing in the dental office. 

For more information about this treatment method, contact White Sands Dentistry which is located at 520 48th Street Ct. E, Bradenton. To schedule an appointment, call 941-748-9393 or visit WhiteSandsDentristry.com.