It’s A Bit Scabby

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

It’s A Bit Scabby

Hello again, I hope you are well and had a great start to 2019.  It’s only just into the New Year and this dental anorak has already been on a course and given a talk about Dental Mavericks.  I had a lovely reception by a group of nice ladies who gave a  donation to our Charity.  It was a bit different as it was in a pub.  It felt like they turned the TV up louder and then somebody started playing pool. Anyway, I just had to talk a bit louder! It was a good gig with a great crowd. Thanks for the invite ladies and thanks ever so much for the donation!

So, What’s A Bit Scabby?

Fibrin, that’s what.  You know when you have a cut or a graze and get a scab and then have a bath or a shower and get it wet and it goes yellow?  Well that’s fibrin.  It is a protein that acts as a mesh scaffold or a matrix for healing.

A few months ago I was banging on about stem cells and how they are used in medicine and surgery to promote healing and how we are using them in our practice by taking blood and spinning in a special machine to utilise them.  The other thing we get is something called Platelet Rich Fibrin or PRF. This stuff acts a scaffold for healing but it also contains more concentrated ingredients such as growth factors and stem cells.

A Bit Of A Head Start

There are many different growth factors.  Some of the most important stimulate the ingrowth of blood vessels.  This is called Angiogenesis.  Angio = blood vessel as in angiogram.  Genesis = the origin or mode of formation of something, in our case new growth.  Angiogenesis is vitally important as blood vessels carry oxygen and that is what is needed for sustained life within the tissues.  Other growth factors stimulate fibroblasts.  Fibroblasts are cells that lay down collagen, which can then be transformed to bone or connective tissue.

Having these more concentrated ingredients for healing can give up to 2 weeks head  start on bone formation after a tooth extraction.  There are also more white blood cells to help prevent infection. All really clever stuff don’t you think. It works very well in dental implant therapy in particular but is not limited to that.

Back From An Adventure Of A Lifetime

I mentioned last time how my son, Edward was off to Peru and then returning to work with us in February.  He’s not back as I write but seems to be having a blast.  He has been making friends!

Having A Ball

Next week is the Dental Mavericks Ball when we aim to raise some money to continue our humanitarian work in Morocco and in Lebanon.  The theme is Peaky Blinders meets Great Gatsby so it should be fun with many a Flapper.

Until next time.  Take care and be good.  Here’s to making a difference.

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 26 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’
Humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk