Awareness of Dental Students on the Application of PRF in Dental Practice - A Survey

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a fibrin matrix in which platelet cytokines, growth factors, and cells are trapped and may be released after a certain time and that can serve as a resorbable membrane. In other words, it is an increased concentration of platelets suspended in a matrix which can serve as a vehicle to carry cells involved in tissue regeneration. This survey aimed at assessing the knowledge and awareness of Platelet-rich fibrin among dental students. The study was done in an online setting among the dental students of the Chennai population. The sample size of 150 participants of the age group 20-23 years, both males and females were selected by a simple random sampling method. Both descriptive (frequency of the responses) and inferential statistics (Chi-square tests) were done and the results were presented in the forms of graphs. According to this survey-based study, it was noted that the majority of participants were comprised of females (67%). It was observed that 87% of the population participated in the study were aware of the term PRF (ie. platelet-rich fibrin) whereas 13% of the population was not aware of the term. The statistical association between gender and the awareness of PRF, its advantages, and components was found to be significant (p<0.05), with females having more awareness than males. Within the limitations of this study, we can conclude that while dental students are aware of PRF they do not have extensive knowledge of its components and its application in various procedures. It was also observed that there was a disparity in awareness between the genders where females were much aware compared to males. We propose to include this knowledge of PRF in the curriculum to ensure increased awareness of PRF among dental students.