Platelet rich plasma to facilitate wound healing following tooth extraction

Following tooth removal bone formation normally takes 16 weeks and may result in less than adequate volume for the necessary reconstruction. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been promoted as an effective method for improving bone formation. Its use is often expensive, time consuming, or not clinically convenient for the patient and/or clinician. This study examines a simple method for obtaining a "Buffy Coat"-PRP (BC-PRP) and its effect on bone healing following the removal of bilateral mandibular 3rd molars. Subtraction digital radiography and CT scan analysis were used to track changes in radiographic density at PRP treated sites in comparison to ipsilateral non-PRP treated sites. PRP treated sites demonstrated early and significant increased radiographic density over baseline measurements following tooth removal. The greatest benefit of PRP is during the initial 2-week postoperative healing time period (P < .001). During weeks 3 though 12, BC-PRP treatment resulted in significant (P < .0001) increases in bone density compared to control, but there was no significant interaction between time and treatment (P > .05). For the entire time period (0-25 weeks) PRP treatment was significant (P < .0001) and time was significant (P < .0001) but there was no significant interaction (P > .05) between the effect of PRP treatment and time. It required 6 weeks for control extraction sites to reach comparable bone density that PRP treated sites achieved at week 1. Postoperative pain, bleeding, and numbness were not significantly affected by BC-PRP application. Results suggest that this simple technique may be of value to clinicians performing oral surgery by facilitating bone regeneration following tooth extraction.