Osteoporosis Drugs Increase Bone Necrosis Jaw
People taking bisphosphonates should be reviewed on a regular basis the teeth and go to the dentist when they have a problem, experts advise.
The drugs used for osteoporosis, bisphosphonates, used by many menopausal women, can cause maxillary and mandibular bone necrosis. So says an information sheet for the Spanish health authorities and dentists for dentists. Osteonecrosis is the result of the lack of blood flow in specific areas of the bones, causing the death of bone cells and bone marrow.
These drugs are used intravenously in patients with cancer when the bones are affected. It draws on oral administration to prevent bone fractures in patients with osteoporosis. Both treatments must be maintained for a long time. Most cases of osteonecrosis occurs in cancer patients who received bisphosphonates to treat malignancies such as multiple myeloma and bone metastases, said Dr. Gabriel Navarro Soto. The incidence, according to medical literature, is 3%. In the case of osteoporosis, patients most at risk are those who carry more than three years of treatment, says the doctor. Although the risk of osteonecrosis to occur is very low, you should inform the patient of what can happen if you want to be a surgical treatment in the mouth, Navarro said Soto.
Health authorities recommend that in the case indicated that dental treatment should be completed before starting treatment with bisphosphonates. People taking these drugs should be reviewed on a regular basis the teeth and go to the dentist when they have a problem, advise from Health. The oral health professionals have been found in the last few years with patients who continue therapy with these drugs, which after the extractions, endodontic surgery and even spontaneously, they are situations of bone necrosis of the jaw that causes the failure the treatments.
The increased use of bisphosphonates has increased cases of mandibular bone necrosis, and less maxillary difficult to solve and a significant impact on quality of life of patients treated with these drugs. Furthermore, the diagnosis of a significant number of jaw necrosis in patients treated with bisphosphonates is an issue that has long been discussed in conferences and scientific meetings dentistry professionals.
It is estimated that osteonecrosis usually occurs in patients taking oral bisphosphonates for more than three years, with an average consumption of 5.6 years, while the usage time of patients with osteonecrosis related to intravenous bisphosphonates can be less than one year. Medical sources say that among the group of postmenopausal women in recent years have seen oral problems result from the indiscriminate use of bisphosphonates.