I am curious if any of you have strong opinions using PRF or AUTOTAC? How do you guys do ridge augmentations? What specific techniques or materials do you attribute your good results?

PRF or Autotac is probably not the right question… PRF is typically utilized to make “sticky bone” or to lay over the graft and membrane to aid soft tissue healing. Autotac from Biohorizons is used to fixate a membrane. As long as the graft material and membrane is stable, maintains space, and sutured properly, the materials don’t matter too much, although a longer-lasting graft like mineralized cortical bone and longer-lasting membrane like Ossix Plus is preferred.

The specific technique, fancy or not, is not so consequential. The most important is stability and achievement of primary closure without tension.

I have and do use PRF in some cases but wouldn’t  say it’s essential. And actually it doesn’t have any Barrier function.

Tacks and PRF are not imperative to the success of GBR. PRF is nice because it makes bone easier to handle and can also help stick or weigh down your membrane while you’re trying to suture it. So while they’re not essential, they do make life easier in some cases. I also use lasso sutures. I’m not a fan of tacks, and neither are patients if they’re no sedated.

Some names for you…

Richard Miron is sort of the PRF guru. Naif Sinada has implemented his stuff into clinical practice and is doing some insanely badass stuff with it. PRF isn’t an end all be all to GBR but once integrated into practice I hear it can really make these procedures user-friendly and significantly improve post-operative issues.

Istvan Urban out of Budapest is in my opinion the GBR god. I hear that if he looks at you in the eyes long enough you actually just start to grow bone. He has a textbook and CE courses

Matthew Fien also has some pretty awesome GBR courses