The role of growth factors in extraction wound healing

Wound healing is a complex process that includes hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and tissue remodeling. Growth factors are natural biological mediators that regulate crucial cellular processes involved in the tissue repair, such as DNA synthesis, angiogenesis, metabolic activity, migration, chemotaxis, proliferation, differentiation and matrix synthesis. The most important growth factors that play a part in the extraction-wound healing process and bone tissue regeneration are: platelet - derived growth factor-PDGF, transforming growth factor Beta-TGF β, insulin-like growth factor-lGF, bone morfogenetic protein-BMP-2, BMP- 7 ,vascular endothelial growth factor- VEGF, fibroblast growth factor-FGF. Growth factors appear at various concentrations at different times, so that the wound age may be estimated by their age. Except wound healing growth factors may be used in better oseointegration of imlants, alveolar ridge augmentation, alveolit etc. Studies of physiological processes in which growth factors have a regulatory role indicate that these molecules rarely act in biological isolation. The study of the interaction between the growth factors in the alveolar bone can explain tissue ability to heal even under adverse conditions, such as infection and radiation.