Objective: To review systematically the reported effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on bone regeneration.
Material and methods: Up to June 2006, MEDLINE and Cochrane databases were explored with different combinations of three search terms: 'PRP', 'bone regeneration', 'dentistry' and their synonyms.
Inclusion criteria: human controlled clinical trials designed to treat maxillofacial bony defects with application of PRP (test) or without PRP (control), including at least five patients with a follow-up period of more than 3 months and using clinical assessment, radiography, histology and/or histomorphometry for evaluation. Literature search, selection of eligible articles and data extraction were carried out independently by two readers.
Results: The literature search revealed 108 references, of which 17 were selected for further analysis. Finally, nine articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected for systematically review. Owing the substantial heterogeneity of the studies it was not possible to analyze the data statistically. An attempt was made to compare results from studies that used similar outcome measures by calculating and adding confidence intervals to the data presented in the original papers. Differences in treatment effects for periodontal defects in terms of clinical attachment level (CAL) were significant (ranging from 0.8 to 3.2 mm). The reported effects of PRP in sinus elevation (compared with their controls) were <10%.
Conclusion: We found evidence for beneficial effects of PRP in the treatment of periodontal defects. Evidence for beneficial effects of PRP in sinus elevation appeared to be weak. No conclusions can be drawn about other applications of PRP in dentistry.