Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) Centrifuge
A PRF centrifuge allows you to use your body’s natural toolkit. Younger people heal much more quickly than older ones. Broken bones can heal as quickly as three weeks in small children. The same break would require six weeks to heal in teens and even longer in adults. Healing time is directly related to the effectiveness of various cells and growth factors which the body uses to repair itself. As we age, those cells and growth factors become less active.
To compensate for this decrease in activity, a product called Platelet Rich Fibrin or PRF has been developed. PRF increases the total number of regenerative cells in a wound so that a greater number of less active (i.e., older) cells can achieve the same healing speed and results as would a smaller number of more active (i.e., younger) cells. In dentistry, PRF has been successfully used to accelerate a patient’s healing response and to generate supplemental tissue to replace lost gum or bone tissue.
How does this work? The building blocks of new tissues come from blood. Blood carries the cells, growth factors and nutrients that have the capacity to heal one’s wounds. When one looks for a way to regenerate lost tissue, blood must be part of the answer and using your own blood has many advantages. Without the need for foreign donor tissue, there is no danger of rejection or introduction of foreign pathogens. Your own blood is safe, readily available, inexpensive and can be quickly and easily processed to concentrate regenerative cells and growth factors.
Creating PRF involves the following steps: A small volume of a patient’s blood is drawn immediately prior to when it is needed. Through centrifugation, blood is separated into serum, fibrin, white blood cells/platelets and red blood cells. Platelets are fragments of white blood cells that aid in clotting and release growth factors. Fibrin is the first healing matrix the body forms after an injury to protect the wound and to create a bed in which blood vessels can form.
The fibrin, white blood cells and platelets are then removed from the drawn blood sample and used as a potent regenerative material called PRF. The serum is used to hydrate the wound and the red blood cells are discarded. Signaling proteins in circulating blood are attracted to the fibrin. These proteins then transform the fibrin into whatever type of tissue is required such as gum tissue or bone. PRF can be used as sole graft material to regenerate lost gum tissue in cases of gum recession or to regenerate bone in an extraction socket after a tooth is removed. Without the need for a non-self donor, there is no risk of disease transmission and, as an added benefit, the procedure is often less expensive than conventional treatment because human donor tissue need not be purchased.
In essence, we all have within ourselves a natural tool kit for self repair. Why not use it? Blood-borne bioactive modifiers such as PRF offer a promising way to help your body heal itself.