Why is PRP Important and Why Would Someone Need It?

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a new approach to tissue regeneration and it is becoming a valuable tool to promote healing in many procedures in dental and oral surgery, especially in aging patients.  

PRP is so exciting because it allows your body to utilize normal healing pathways at a much faster rate. Especially after surgery, the ability to speed up healing is incredibly valuable.  When the body is healing, it sends all types of cells and cell types to start the healing process. One of these cell types is the platelet. The platelet is vital because it performs many functions, such as:
  • Forming blood clots
  • Releasing GF (growth factors) directly into the area that needs healing
The Growth Factors help the body heal and repair by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissues. This means that the more growth factors that can get to the wounded area, the faster new tissue can be regenerated. PRP is the catalyst for releasing GF, the ability to get more PRP released is a critical step for ultimately speeding up healing.
Another reason we are so passionate about PRP is because it releases BMP. Bone Morphogenetic Protein. BMP is part of the TGF family and, according to research on both humans and animals, has been shown to help in bone formation. This is important because in oral surgery, we want to help induce bone formation to have you heal and get better faster. When we use PRP during oral surgery, it activates the release of BMP. When this BMP is released to the area in need of healing, where a patient had surgery, it goes to the implant site and lets the surgeon grow bone quicker and even more predictable than has ever been possible. In what scenarios would PRP be helpful? There are many clinical applications for getting PRP. It can be helpful to have PRP to help speed up healing after:
  • Bone grafting for dental implants
  • Repairing bone defects
  • Repairing fistulas (those between the mouth and the sinus cavity)
  • Cosmetic : PRP facial or ( often called the vampire facial )
We offer this service to our patients at Siesta Village Dentistry and we would be happy to schedule a free consultation.  At Siesta Village Dentistry we care about your oral health and healing and always put patients first.