Bone Graft and PRF
The following are just some of our advanced dental procedures that we offer at Smiles Beyond.
Bone Graft
After tooth extraction, if the walls of the socket are very thick, they will usually fill naturally with bone in two to three months. However, when the walls of your socket are very thin (such as in your upper and lower front teeth), this type of healing will not be as predictable. In these situations, a bone graft is often placed at the time of tooth extraction to help your body fill in the empty socket with bone. This step will maintain the width and volume of bone you will need for implant placement several months later.
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​There may be inadequate bone for implant placement if your tooth was removed many years ago and your bony ridge is extremely thin. In this case, a bone graft can be placed next to the thin bone and allowed to heal for up to six months. After the graft has fused to your pre-existing bone, the ridge will be re-entered and the implant placed. Bone grafting is usually a relatively comfortable office procedure. Many different bone-grafting materials are available, including your own bone.
Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF)
PRF or platelet-rich-fibrin is a technique during which platelets in your blood are isolated to create a concentrate that is injected (with your own plasma) into damaged tissue to aid in faster healing. To fully understand PRF, you must understand that your blood is comprised of platelets, plasma, red & white blood cells. When you suffer an injury, the platelets clot your blood to begin the healing process. They encourage the healing response of “growth factors and other proteins found in your platelets” that also assist in repairing the skin and reducing inflammation. The PRF technique actually takes this healing process one step further with a fibrin meshwork comprised of your growth factors and platelets.1 This fibrin mesh acts almost like a band aid.
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During the PRF technique, a sample of your blood is put into a centrifuge which separates it into 3 different layers: red blood cells, plate rich fibrin (PRP) and platelet poor fibrin (PPP) Your dentist will then use PRF to create a resorbable membrane (band aid) over the surgical site. The beauty of PRF is that your blood is not altered in any way, in turn your body will essentially be healing naturally at an accelerated rate with the end goal of “rebuilding and regenerating”.1
Due to its ability to aid in the healing process, PRF is often used during any dental surgical procedures. When dental surgeons remove bone, damaged tissue or perform dental implant surgery it is imperative that the area heal as quickly as possible, in turn PRF serves as a wonderful tool to the dental field.
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Importance of PRF in Dental Implant Surgery
As stated above, PRF acts like a band aid that can accelerate healing and reduce swelling after an injury/surgical site. Like a normal band aid it protects the surgical site from saliva, bacteria and other contaminants. “During Oral surgery, the patients’ jaw bone is exposed. In bone there is very little blood supply as compared to other tissues in the human body. In areas where there is less blood, the body has less ability to heal quickly and less defense against infection.” In turn, PRF can assist this area in healing quickly and also helping to prevent dental implant failure.
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