Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

Platelet Rich Plasma is often used during root coverage grafing procedures to improve the attachment of the donor tissue to the patient’s root surface. This is important because we do not want to cover the root with tissue that is not sealed to the root. This lack of a seal would create a pocket that would be difficult to clean and access during your daily homecare measures. During your surgery, a sample of your own blood is taken and it is prepared in a special series of steps to harvest a concentrated sample of platelets. These platelet alpha granules contain potent growth factors necessary to “jump start” tissue repair and regeneration at the wound site. Concentrated autologous (from your own blood) platelets contain large reservoirs of growth factors that have the potential to greatly accelerate the normal healing process, naturally. The use of concentrated growth factors is considered by many to be a “new frontier” of clinical therapy and creates a paradigm shift affecting all segments of the medical profession.

NEW STANDARDS OF CARE

Leading clinicians in specialties such as dental, ENT, and facial plastic and reconstructive therapy routinely use concentrated platelets due to their ability to deliver a cocktail of bioactive growth factors. Growth factors shown to enhance the body’s natural healing process include:

• Platelet Derived Growth Factors (PDGF) initiates connective tissue healing including bone regeneration and repair.
• PDGF also increases mitogenesis (healing cells), angiogenesis (endothelial mitosis into functioning capillaries), and macrophage activation (debridement of the wound site and second phase source of growth factors).
• Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-ß) increases the chemotaxis and mitogenesis of osteoblast precursors and they also stimulate osteoblast deposition of the collagen matrix of wound healing and bone regeneration.
• Epidermal Growth Factors (EGF) induce epithelial development and promote angiogenesis.
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors (VEGF) has potent angiogenic, mitogenic, and vascular permeability-enhancing activities specific for endothelial cells.

IMPROVING PATIENT OUTCOMES

Clinicians have reported that the use of growth factors from platelet rich plasma (PRP) can enhance:

• Bone Growth and Maturation
• Graft Stabilization
• Wound Sealing
• Wound Healing
• Hemostasis