Your blood is made up of two components: solid and liquid. The solid red cells, white cells, and platelets are suspended in liquid called plasma. Platelets are small, colorless cell fragments in the blood whose main function is to interact with clotting proteins to stop or prevent bleeding.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an emerging method of tissue regeneration. It is widely used in various surgical fields, including head and neck surgery, otolaryngology, cardiovascular surgery, and maxillofacial surgery.
During wound healing, platelets are among the first cells to respond at a wound site: They are critical to the initiation of the healing process. Besides their clotting effects, platelets contain a rich array of growth factors, which can assist in hard- and soft-tissue wound healing.
PRP can be used in several types of oral surgery:
- Bone grafting for dental implants
- Onlay and inlay grafts
- Sinus lift procedures
- Ridge augmentation procedures
- Closure of cleft palate and/or lip
- Palate defects
- Repair of bone defects created by removal of teeth
- Repair of fistulas between the sinus cavity and mouth
To develop PRP for surgical application, blood must first be drawn from a patient. The platelets are separated from other blood cells and their concentration is increased during a process called centrifugation. Then the increased concentration of platelets is combined with the remaining blood and applied to the surgical site.
