The subject of platelet-rich plasma, also known as PRP can be confusing.

Over the years, since Drs Arun Garg and Robert Marx first placed patients' own blood in a centrifuge to bring plasma to the top, fibrin to the middle and erythrocytes to the bottom, commercial forces and a lack of industry standardisation has led to myriad nomenclatures, including, but not limited to PRF, i-PRF, A-PRF etc. However, they are all the same product.

Garg is an internationally-recognised dental educator and surgeon who, for more than 20 years, served as a full-time professor of surgery in the division of oral and maxillofacial surgery and as director of residency training at the University of Miami, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

He is considered the world's pre-eminent authority on bone biology, bone harvesting and bone grafting for dental implant surgery. Alongside Dr Marx, he pioneered the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Looking to set the record straight on PRP and speaking about its evolution, Garg said: 'I could play the same game and introduce 5th generation PRP but that would be disingenuous.

'The truth is, PRP is PRP whatever way you look at it, and PRF, i-PRF and so on are all PRP too! The only difference between the 1990s when Robert and I created this by-product of patients' own blood and now is that we have kept up with changing technology. All autologous blood concentrates are the same, irrespective of what another user may call it.'

Teaming up with Garg to make sense of the confusion is the prestigious publisher Quintessence, hosting his blog on autologous blood concentrates on its website.

If you would like to know more about how PRP misconceptions have developed over the years, to learn the truth behind the abbreviations and to buy Garg's book on the topic, please visit http://www.quintpub.net/news/2018/08/autologous-blood-concentrates-making-sense-of-all-the-hype/#.W9a-6zGYSUn.