Dentistry equipment billed as “game changing” has been bought for the dental teams at the Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble Hospitals by Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

The charity had help from staff at Preston’s Springfields Fuels Limited, whose Employees’ Medical Research & Charity Trust Fund gave the Foundation a £2,695 award to put towards the £5,250 cost of two PRF Duo Quattro Full Systems – one for each hospital.

The systems can be used to speed patient healing and reduce the risk of treatment complications. The dentistry teams at Rosemere Cancer Centre look after patients from the Preston area and from across Lancashire and South Cumbria who are undergoing treatment for head and neck cancers, which includes cancers of the mouth.

Their new kit is a centrifuge system that can be kept chair-side. A small blood sample is taken from patients needing surgical procedures – tooth extractions, bone grafts or dental implants.

The sample is put into a PRF system and spun so that it is separated into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and growth factors –Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF).

It is the PRF, collected as a yellow gel like substance, which is then used as either a membrane or plug post-surgery that helps tissues (tissues such as the gums and bone) heal better and more quickly.

The Duo Quattro Systems requires the use of the patients’ blood. Blood is taken from the patient using a compatible disposable blood vacuum system and the bottles of collected blood are then placed into the machine. Fortunately the equipment is very simple to use and has pre-set programmes so a simple press of a button and leave it to spin.

Dental nurse Heather Appleyard Heather works in the oral maxillofacial department. She joined the team at Royal Preston Hospital in January 2017 and has worked across the disciplines of oral and maxillofacial dentistry, orthodontics, and restorative dentistry.

She has been trained to use the equipment and said, “The Duo Quattro Systems requires the use of the patients’ blood. Blood is taken from the patient using a compatible disposable blood vacuum system and the bottles of collected blood are then placed into the machine. Fortunately the equipment is very simple to use and has pre-set programmes so a simple press of a button and leave it to spin.”

Consultant in oral rehabilitation Kevin Mellan explained, “PRF in dentistry has been shown to reduce patients’ post-operative pain and decrease their risk of complications from subsequent infections.

“It’s an aid to natural healing with no risk of rejection or foreign body response because it’s a treatment derived from the patient’s own blood sample. PRF is regarded as game changing and is increasingly being used in dentistry worldwide for the benefits it brings to patients and because it can be produced easily and at a low cost.”

Trusts and grants fundraiser for Rosemere Cancer Foundation Rebecca Arestidou said: “Over the last eight years, the Springfields Employees’ Medical Research & Charity Trust Fund has supported a number of our projects. We are extremely grateful for its latest help in purchasing the two PRF systems, which are set to make an immediate positive impact on patients.”

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