Platelet Rich Fibrin

Sometimes when implants are placed, extra bone is needed for stability and integration of an implant. Typically a xenograft (bovine bone) or allograft (cadaver bone) is used for grafting procedures. Dr. Burlingame or Dr. Suarez is one of the few oral surgeons in the nation offering a new ground breaking grafting procedure that uses your own blood to make your graft. A graft processed from your own blood.

Prior to the procedure, Drs. Burlingame or Suarez will draw your blood and place it in a test tube. The test tube is spun in a centrifuge which separates the blood into its components 1. plasma, 2. red blood cells, and 3. a small but very concentrated quantity of white blood cells and platelets called a buffy coat. This buffy coat contains healing and growth factors to enhance healing. These products are immediately placed in the surgical site. Since healing occurs faster than usual, there is less chance of infection, dry socket, failed implants, or failed graft. This procedure is new to dentistry but has been widely used in medicine such as heart surgery, orthopedics, plastic surgery, and dermatology since the 1970s.