Bisphosphonate-induced mandibular osteonecrosis – case report

Vol. 12 – Number 48 – 2021 IMPLANT DENTISTRY NOTEBOOK Case report Page 49-54 Bisphosphonate-induced mandibular osteonecrosis – case report Felipe Ledo de Andrade¹ Maria Carolina de Sousa Melo¹ Cyro Ferraz de Sampaio Barros Neto² Elcio Magdalena Giovani³ Abstract Bisphosphonates (BPs) are drugs used in the treatment of various bone pathologies, such as osteoporosis, used routinely to prevent pathological fractures in these patients. This class of drug inhibits bone resorption and bone turnover by suppressing osteoclast recruitment and activity, thereby, shortening its useful life. The possibility of osteonecrosis of the jaw bones in patients exposed to BPs was first described a little over a decade ago. It is a relatively rare complication, but potentially serious and debilitating. It consists of progressive bone destruction in maxillary bones of patients exposed to treatment with these drugs, in the absence of radiation treatment. This manuscript aims to report the case of osteonecrosis induced by alendronate in a 78-year-old female patient, as well as to update the multidisciplinary health team on the implication of BPs in the occurrence of osteonecrosis in the maxillomandibular complex and guide dental therapeutic planning prior to treatment with such drugs. Descriptores: Bisphosphonate associated to osteonecrosis of the jaw, alendronate, osteoporosis. ¹ Residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology – Conjunto Hospitalar do Mandaqui-SP. ² Dentistry – USP. ³ Oral Diagnosis discipline linked to the Master in Dentistry – UNIP. DOI: 10.24077/2021;1248-4954