Saturday, May 19, 2012  |  9:26:11 PM

One of the newest innovations used in our practice is the application of platelet-rich plasma with soft tissue and bone grafts. This procedure has been used for many years in hospital settings to treat patients who did not heal well, like diabetics, or areas of the body with limited blood supply, like the retina of the eye.
Dr. Wallace was the first periodontist in North Carolina to have the capability to use platelet rich plasma in surgery.

This procedure is done by drawing a small volume of blood at the time of surgery and placing it in a centrifuge which we have in our office. The centrifuge spins the blood sample for 12 minutes, concentrating the platelets-these have the healing factors in them that will accelerate healing of any wound.

The benefit of this for our patients is to produce more rapid healing of surgical sites with less discomfort then ever before. In addition, this accelerated healing means that in implant patients, they can have final crowns made sooner than would be possible without use of Platelet-Rich Plasma.