Osteonecrosis Research Report
DH 423
2/21/17
Molly Orr After listening to the guest speaker’s moving story, I was interested to know more about the disease. There is a lot of research done on this disease in general, and in many areas of the body, but I chose to focus on osteonecrosis of the jaw since that went with our guest speaker’s condition and directly relates to my field of work. Osteonecrosis of the jaw is often abbreviated “ONJ”, and also called avascular necrosis, aseptic necrosis, and “dead jaw syndrome” in some literature. This disease takes action by disrupting the blood supply to the jawbone, and it can result in extensive irreversible damage. Specifically, the jaw bone will resorb. In the dental field, we will see …show more content…
Most cases are treated effectively with conservative treatment. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections associated with the disease, NSAIDs are used relieve inflammation and control pain, and chlorhexidine is used to control intraoral bacteria and inflammation. Some patients will receive surgery to remove injured tissue and damaged bone, but as a very last resort to avoid worsening the condition. ONJ has serious effects on the patients that suffer from it, including both physical and psychological. Some patients with this disease can end up developing osteoarthritis from the severe damage to areas around the joints. Other patients may develop depression and issues with their altered facial appearance after removal of bone, teeth, and facial structures. (Osteonecrosis, 2015).
After researching about this topic, I created a PICO question. In a patient taking bisphosphonate medications (P), does waiting a certain length of time after regular use of the medication to perform traumatic dental procedures (I), opposed to not waiting (C), reduce the risk of developing bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw