Prominent Dentistry
Prominent Mobile dentist, Dr. Byron C. Scott, of Springhill Dental Health Center, is now performing a new and innovative procedure in his dental office. It involves acquiring a blood sample from the patient prior to their procedure or surgery and harvesting the platelet rich plasma – PRP from the sample. This procedure will be the standard of care in the near future, states Dr. Scott.
Platelet Rich Plasma is exactly what the name suggests. It is a substance comprised of the by-product of human blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets and growth factors. In the past, the procedure has been confined to the hospital setting, but with modern technology, it is now available in a physician’s or dentist’s office. It can be used to enhance wound healing, wound sealing, graft stabilization and hemostatis.
In the case of a dental patient, PRP can be used with such procedures as extractions, implants, periodontal surgery and bone grafting. The amount of blood drawn from the patient will depend on the type of surgery or procedure the patient is having performed, but it is usually only one to two vials. The blood is processed in a centrifuge unit and the PRP is removed. A series of steps are performed to make the sample suitable for use. A sterile membrane or gauze is then saturated with the PRP and applied to the wound, surgical site or mixed with bone grafting material for approximately 15 minutes. This results in dramatic improvement, almost instantaneous clotting and reduces the risk of infection and dry sockets, a painful condition resulting in the failure of blood to clot in an extraction or surgical site.
Studies are showing that PRP will greatly enhance the healing process, therefore I feel its use is in the best interest of my patients says Scott. This process allows us to remove the optimal healing components from the patient’s own blood and reintroduce them immediately into the surgical site where they are needed, without the usual delay involved in the body’s normal healing process. Many patients immune systems are compromised by disease, illness or allergies, so wounds or surgical sites do not always heal properly and quickly. This procedure is extremely valuable in such cases, but it is also valuable for the healthy patient, as it appears to give all patients a tremendous boost in their healing ability, decreases the amount of time in the overall healing process and increases the success of grafting and implant procedures.
If you are wondering about the cost of the procedure, Dr. Scott states that it is minimal less than $50 and the results are amazing. And what about safety? Since the patient is using their own blood and plasma, it is completely safe and there is no need to fear any disease transfer as the patient only receives their own PRP, taken minutes prior to surgery. For more information about this revolutionary procedure, contact Dr. Scott at Springhill Dental Health Center at (251) 494-3433.
Dr. Scott is a graduate of Samford University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry. He has practiced general dentistry in Mobile for 29 years with an emphasis in cosmetic, reconstructive and implant dentistry. He has lectured nationally and internationally and recently completed advanced studies in bone grafting and the use of PRP in wound healing at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Scott is also featured in the 2004-2005 Woodward/White's Best Dentists in America.