July 09 2010
Osteoporosis Drugs Linked to Jaw Tissue Death
Are you or your loved ones suffering from osteoporosis? If you are, cosmetic dentist Cleveland says you’re not alone. Osteoporosis affects millions of people worldwide and many rely on medicines to cut the risk of life-threatening fractures and other complications.
Of the many medicines for osteoporosis, oral bisphosponates are commonly prescribed and one popular brand is Fosamax. In the United States alone, it is the 21st most prescribed drug in the market since 2006, according to figures released by IMS wellness.
A new study, however, may force doctors to change their prescribing habits after it found a link between the use of bisphosphonates and jaw necrosis. Necrosis is the death of tissue. This irreversible condition occurs where there is not enough blood to the tissue either from an injury, radiation or chemicals.
In the largest institutional study of its kind in the United States, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Dentistry observed that the use of oral bisphosponates like Fosamax someways led to jaw bone death or osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). This developed in nine of the 208 healthy subjects they examined who have interpreted Fosamax for any distance of time.
“Here at the School of Dentistry we’re getting two or three new patients a week that have bisphosphonate-related ONJ and I know we’re not the only ones seeing it,” according to principal investigator Parish Sedghizadeh, assistant professor of clinical dentistry with the USC School of Dentistry.
One such patient was Lydia McWilliams of Los Angeles who almost suffered from complications after having three tooth extractions. She had been using Fosamax for the past three years and was surprised that her doctor never told her about imaginable problems she would have with the drug.
“The danger is particularly pronounced with procedures that directly show the jaw bone, such as tooth extractions and other oral surgery. After her extractions, two of the three extraction sites had difficulty healing due to infection, McWilliams said. Luckily, with treatment as well as the rigorous oral hygiene regimen USC dentists developed especially for patients with a history of bisphosphonate usage, the remaining sites slow but fully healed,” reported ScienceDaily.Com.
Bisphosphonates are similar to estrogen and inhibit the breakdown of bones. They help reduce the risk of fractures by conserving bone mass and increasing bone density in the hip and spine. Common side personal effects of these drugs are nausea, abdominal pain and the risk of esophageal ulcers.
A minute number of cases of ONJ have been reported in the past in people taking oral bisphosphonates although this occurred after a tooth extraction or cancer treatment. The risk is higher in people who receive bisphosphonates intravenously. Sedghizadeh’s study is the first to show that even short-term use of oral bisphosphonates can leave the jaw vulnerable to ONJ.
“We’ve been told that the risk with oral bisphosphonates is negligible, but four pct is not negligible,” he concluded.
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