The technique of using ย a centrifuge to extract blood plasma has been around for several decades. Usually, blood plasma is very useful for patients suffering from leukemia and other blood-borne illnesses, and can be used for blood transfusions. It has been used in sports medicine as well, to cure such ailments as tennis elbow.
In this article, a study that has recently been made regarding the uses of blood plasma in oral surgery to speed up healing times is considered in depth. A lot of interesting information is revealed about this process – first and foremost that it is still in the experimental phases. PRP is the abbreviation for Platelet Rich Plasma. This is blood plasma that happens to be full of platelets. But before I explain all of that. let me answer a question that many of you are thinking right now; what is blood plasma anyway?
Blood plasma is a straw colored fluid that makes up 55% of your blood. It is overwhelmingly made up of water, and a mixture of proteins and vital minerals. Blood plasma is essentially a reserve, with materials you may need when you have to exert yourself. Sugars such as glucose are also present in large quantities, as well as platelets. Platelets are what helps blood clot and is the enzyme necessary for bleeding to stop.
By centrifuging the plasma from blood, the dentist will get the PRP needed for the treatment. When oral surgery is performed, be it extraction or a dental implantation, or a bone graft or any other treatment that requires stitching and a healing time, at the end of the treatment a few drops of this PRP will be injected into and around the procedure site, which will lead to a much faster healing time. It also is linked to experiencing less pain during the healing process, which is some mind boggling information! In the study Dr Magid, the oral surgeon, also added some bone fragments into the mix, which fused remarkably quickly with the natural bone. The downside of the procedure is that it requires frequent check ups during your healing time, which means many short trips to the dentist. Overall it is good to see an old technique being freshly applied to the field of oral surgery, and hopefully this will become a standard procedure soon.
