Department of Prosthodontics: HOLISTIC APPROACH FOR EFFECTIVE PATIENT CARE

• 15 May, 2020

Teamwork is an essential aspect of good prosthodontics clinical practice, clinical governance, and ensuring optimal patient care. An effective patient pathway involves interaction with a number of different members of the dental team, all aimed at providing the best possible outcome for the patient. Each member of the team has an influential role to play in making the care pathway as efficient and as smooth as possible, not only for the patient but also for the dental team. Poor teamwork can lead to a breakdown in communication and deterioration in working relationships, ultimately leading to sub-standard patient care and a loss of patient trust and confidence. In order to have more predictable outcomes for our patients and simultaneously keep our postgraduates abreast with the latest protocols we at our department stress on meticulous treatment planning, baseline investigations Viz, blood & radiographic examination before proceeding for definitive treatment. Once the course of treatment is decided and if the need arises, we move on to the next level of investigations like CBCT (cone beam computed tomography). Utilizing the information from these tests mock surgeries are performed digitally & on models. The entire team responsible for a case that is inclusive of a faculty member, 2 PG students & dental operatory assistants, make sure that all the necessary armamentarium, the implant sizes, graft material & the operatory are set up on the day of surgery.

With Covid-19 coming in the protocols for dental treatment have changed with the RT- PCR becoming mandatory and thereby increasing the underlying cost of the treatments especially dental implants. We need to have certain promising cost-effective regenerative alternatives. One such alternative is the use of Platelet Rich Plasma which has proven to be a boon to dentistry since its advent. Along with its excellent regenerative potential, the major advantage is that it's derived from the patient's own blood so there are no chances of cross-infection.

 

Platelet Rich Plasma: A New Age Regenerative Therapy

The use of platelet-rich- plasma (PRP) is a promising biologic therapy, which offers various applications in dentistry. As an alternative source of growth factors for several types of dental procedures, PRP has become an increasingly popular clinical tool. These growth factors are described as promoters of tissue repair mechanisms and remodeling. Sinus grafting, periodontal soft and hard tissue surgical procedures, dental implant osseous-integration, ridge augmentation, etc is what is included in the application of PRP. A relatively new concept of biotechnology is represented by the use of PRP that is becoming an inseparable part of tissue engineering and cellular therapy today. 

What is PRP?

PRP is the acronym for Platelet Rich Plasma. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a technological procedure. It involves the formulation and use of the patient’s own blood plasma. It refers to the blood plasma which contains various growth factors that stimulate healing and regeneration in the human body. The PRP is 100% biocompatible and safe to use.

How the PRP Serum is Created?

Not take more than 30 to 45 minutes is taken in a typical session of PRP. And, since it has no side effects or after effects, you won’t need any downtime. Here’s how the PRP preparation process works:

1. Around 30 millimeters of your blood from the forearm is harvested by the doctors.
2. They place it in a special sterilized test tube that prevents the clotting of the blood.
3. The test tubes are placed in a centrifugal device that spins them at high speeds.
4. The motion causes the blood to separate into three distinct layers. You can clearly see the red blood cells collected at the bottom. Above that is a straw-colored buffy coat that has a gel-like consistency.
5. To carefully extract the upper layers aspiration method is used by the doctors.
6. These layers are placed back in the centrifugal device for the second round of spinning. The upper layer of Platelet Poor Plasma (PPP) is separated and the pure form of the PRP serum settles at the bottom.

                            

What is PRP Used For?

 

• Bone Grafting For Dental Implants – This includes socket bone grafts, sinus lifts, ridge augmentation, bone widening grafts, correcting peri-implantitis, and only block bone grafts.
• Bone Repair – Facial trauma reconstruction, repairing of defects due to tooth removal, or the removal of growths and cysts is where PR is used.
• Platelet Rich Plasma in Dentistry for Senior Patients - Senior patients may have significant tooth loss resulting from periodontal disease. PRP help heal their weaker bones and tissues. And, provide a better quality of life for them.
• Extractions – This includes wisdom teeth impactions as well as regular extractions. It has been shown to decrease the chance of developing dry sockets which can be very painful.

Other Benefits of PRP Therapy

There is a wide range of medical and aesthetic issues in which PRP therapy can be helpful.

• PRP facilitates quick healing when placed in open wounds
• With the help of PRP serum growth of new hair can be promoted and there can be lower hair loss.
• Reversing the signs of aging and rejuvenating the facial skin, the PRP injections can also help in that. The treatment can be used for erasing various flaws of the skin. PRP injections can also remove acne scars, age spots, discolorations, and injury and surgical scars.

PRP therapy is being adopted in high-profile arenas by well-known personalities, researchers are studying the modality in detail in the past 10 years. More and more uses of the PRP serum are being discovered and finding better methods to develop and perfect it further.

To deliver high-quality prosthodontic care there has been a paradigm shift towards a patient-centered approach. As a function of this, the patient-care pathway should be supportive, engaging, and informed at all points of the journey. The Principles of the dental team working that a good team includes the following components:

1. Good leadership
2. Clear, shared aims, and work together to achieve them
3. Different roles and responsibilities, and understand those roles and responsibilities.

As the roles and responsibilities of team members continue to evolve, the overlap of each team member’s duties become wider, and this should allow us to create a more comprehensive care network.