Coming Soon: How IV Sedation and PRF Support Your Oral Health

At Junction Family Dental Care, we often get asked: "If you are trying to minimize exposure to chemicals, why do you use sedation?" It is a great question.

The Case for IV Sedation

Oral health is not just about treating the teeth but also considering the whole person—emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual. We know that high anxiety triggers the "fight or flight" response, flooding your body with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This inflammatory response can actually hinder your immune system and slow down healing. Moreover, high anxiety can even prevent people from seeking any treatment in the first place until the pain is too much to bear.

By utilizing IV Sedation, we allow high-anxiety patients to bypass this trauma. You receive the treatment you need—whether it's removing toxic materials that have degraded or restoring function—while your body remains in a calmer state. It allows us to help patients who might otherwise neglect their oral health due to fear.

PRF: Healing from Within

We are also excited to introduce Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF). This is a game-changer for faster recovery and healing because it is 100% autologous (meaning it comes from you). This procedure is most often used to help extraction sites to heal quickly. In a December 19, 2021, article from the International Journal of Implant Dentistry, “Efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin in promoting the healing of extraction sockets: a systematic review”, Al-Maawi et al. present that PRF significantly reduced the post-operative pain 1 – 3 day after extraction. Additionally, PRF reduced bone loss in the extraction site.

Here is how it works:

1. We take a small sample of your blood.
2. We spin it in a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells from the plasma.
3. This concentrates your platelets, white blood cells, and fibrin into a nutrient-rich clot.

When placed in a surgical site (like after an extraction), PRF releases your body's own growth factors. It reduces the need for synthetic drugs, lowers the risk of infection, and speeds up tissue regeneration naturally. It is the purest form of healing available.