Safety of Platelet-rich Plasma Treatment for Oral Diseases

Objectives: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), obtained by centrifuging autologous blood, is widely used for pain relief and wound healing. PRP is also used in the dental field, but the safety and validity thereof for dental diseases have not yet been fully established. We aimed to evaluate the safety of PRP for the following dental procedures: post-extraction socket healing, maxillary sinus floor elevation, periodontal tissue regeneration, and intentional tooth replantation. Materials: PRP was purified from patient’s own venous blood and transplanted. Methods: Eight patients were enrolled in clinical trials targeting four dental diseases, and subjected to the required treatment with transplantation (two patients/study). The primary endpoint was safety; specifically, adverse events after PRP treatment were evaluated based on clinical observations. Secondary endpoints were clinical evaluation, dental radiography and/or imaging evaluation, and platelet count. Results: No serious adverse events associated with the PRP transplantation were observed. In tooth extraction sockets, postoperative pain tended to subside the day after treatment. Regeneration of hard tissue at the PRP transplant site has been confirmed in clinical studies on maxillary sinus lifts, periodontal tissue regeneration, and tooth replantation. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the safety and validity of PRP transplantation for each type of dental disease. Because the sample size was limited, further large-scale clinical studies are required to evaluate the safety and validity of PRP treatment for each dental disease.