Professor, Periodontology University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Disclosure(s):
Maria L. Geisinger, DDS, MS: No financial relationships to disclose
Harness nature's healing intelligence. Platelets are natural reservoirs of growth factors and cytokines essential to tissue healing. After injury or surgical intervention, these molecules orchestrate the formation, maturation and repair of soft and hard tissues—a healing process dentistry has leveraged since the 1940s. Master the evolution from traditional platelet concentrates to second-generation preparations like leukocyte-rich platelet rich fibrin (L-PRF), which have transformed dental practice through superior clinical outcomes, lower preparation costs, patient-friendly autologous materials and versatile applications in hard and soft tissue grafting. Understand the current science of platelet biology and discover how to strategically integrate L-PRF into your regenerative toolkit to enhance healing, reduce complications and expand your case acceptance.
Learning Objectives:
Identify and describe the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of platelet concentrates (PCs) and their effects for oral regeneration.
Evaluate the clinical applications for the adjunctive use of PCs to improve oral hard- and soft-tissue regeneration outcomes.
Develop skills to harvest and prepare L-PRF for use in a variety of clinical scenarios based upon the individual patient needs and clinical presentations.
