Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) – Olympia, WA

PRP is used in conjunction with connective tissue grafting and bone grafting procedures to enhance your healing and improve the desired results of your procedure.

Properties of PRP

What is PRP? Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is exactly what its name suggests. The substance is a by-product of your blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets. 

Why all the excitement about PRP? PRP helps your body to heal at an accelerated rate. During the healing process, the body rushes many cells to the wound in order to initiate the healing process. One of those cell types is platelets. Platelets perform many functions including releasing of growth factors into the wound encouraging tissue building. These growth factors (platelet derived growth factors PGDF, transforming growth factor beta TGF, and insulin-like growth factor ILGF) function to assist the body in repairing itself by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissue. This can be very helpful if you are having connective tissue grafting. The more growth factors released, the more stem cells stimulated to produce new tissue. Bone morphogenic protein (BMP), has been shown to induce the formation of new bone. This is very helpful if you are looking to have dental implants. By adding PRP, which encourages BMP release, to the bone substitute particles, the implant surgeon can now grow bone more predictably and faster than ever before. In a nutshell, PRP permits the body to heal faster and more efficiently.

What is PRP used for?

  • Bone grafting for dental implants. This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge augmentation procedures.
  • Repair of bone defects created by removal of teeth or small cysts.
  • Repair of fistulas between the sinus cavity and mouth.
  • Accelerated healing of connective tissue grafting sites. 

What are the benefits of PRP?

  • Safety: PRP is a by-product of your own blood; therefore, disease transmission is not an issue.
  • Convenience: PRP can be generated in our office during your procedure. 
  • Faster healing: The supersaturation of the wound with PRP, and thus growth factors, produces an increase of tissue synthesis and thus faster tissue regeneration.
  • Cost effectiveness: Since PRP is made with only 20 cc (a small vial) of your blood in our office; you need not incur the expense of the harvesting procedure in the hospital or at the blood bank.
  • Ease of use: PRP is easy to handle and actually improves the ease of application of bone substitute materials and bone grafting products by making this more gel-like.

Frequently asked questions:

  • Is PRP safe? Yes. During the procedure a small amount of your own blood is drawn from your arm. This blood is then placed in the PRP centrifuge machine and spun down. In less then fifteen minutes, the PRP is formed and ready to use.
  • Should PRP be used in all bone-grafting cases? Not always. In some cases, there is no need for PRP. However, in the majority of cases, application of PRP to the graft will increase the final amount of bone present in addition to making the wound heal faster and more efficiently.
  • Will my insurance cover the costs? Unfortunately not. The cost of PRP application is paid by the patient.
  • Can PRP be used alone to stimulate bone formation? No. PRP must be mixed with either your own bone, a donated bone material, or a synthetic bone product, such as BIO-OSS.
  • Are there any contraindications to PRP? Very few. Obviously, patients with bleeding disorders or hematologic diseases do not qualify for this in-office procedure. Check with primary care physician or ask Dr. Coppin and Dr. Lane  if PRP is right for you.