The bone augmentation method for dental implants has become a main means of controlling the prognosis of dental implants in clinical treatment. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been accepted as a safe material which can be extracted from the blood of patients. Furthermore, PRP is used in many treatments to enhance bone formation.
The aim of this study was to identify what kind of growth factor was affected by PRP on bone formation in an animal experiment.
Six adult dogs were selected, and four implants were placed in the lower jaw of each dog; two implants were located on the right side and the other two on the left side, to obtain control and experimental sides respectively. After that, an artificial bony defect was made between two implants on both sides, and then the defect on the experimental side was filled up with PRP extracted from the same dog. Radiographic, histological and immunohistochemical methods were used for a comparative analysis.
The results showed new bone formation due to PRP at the first week after the operation, and it was identified by both radiographic and histological methods. In addition, positive reactions of PDGF in immunohistochemical qualitative analysis and quantitative search were confirmed.
From the data it was concluded that PDGF was the main growth factor for the bone formation when PRP was applied to the artificial bony defects of the studied dogs.