Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) is a by-product of blood that is rich in platelets. Until now, its use has been confined to the hospital setting. This was due mainly to the cost of separating the platelets from the blood and the large amount of blood needed to produce a suitable quantity of platelets. New technology permits the doctor to harvest and produce a sufficient quantity of platelets from only 20 cc of blood drawn from the patient at the time of their outpatient surgical procedure.
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 a cascade of events that occur during the normal healing process. One of the cell types recruited to the wound is platelets. Platelets are responsible for the formation of the blood clot and the release of growth factors into the wound. These growth factors function to assist the body in repairing itself by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissue. With a greater concentration of growth factors at the wound, a greater number of stem cells are stimulated to produce new host tissue. Thus, PRP helps the body to heal faster and more efficiently.
Faster and more efficient healing can be advantageous in a number of situations, including dental implant surgery when bone is deficient and grafting is necessary. The application of PRP to the graft will increase the final amount of bone present, as well as enhancing the natural course of healing.