The importance of a thorough medical and pharmacological history before dental implant placement

Severe Case of Osteonecrosis Following Implant Placement in a Patient in Therapy With Bisphosphonates: A Case Report

Osteonecrosis of the jaw is a rare complication that has been associated with the use of bisphosphonates. A 77-year-old patient presented in April 2013 asking for a consultation. She reported that in May 2009, she underwent an implant rehabilitation with 8 implants and an immediately loaded fixed prosthesis in the maxilla. After a few months the patient started to report pain and purulent secretions that were neglected by the clinician for several years. She decided to refer to the Dental Clinic after another acute pain episode. Once the fixed prosthesis was removed, exposed necrotic bone was found in relation to the implants. The patient reported having taken oral alendronic acid to treat osteoporosis since before 2006. The patient underwent a functional endoscopic sinus surgery and a removal of necrotic bone blocks. Three years of follow-up showed healed tissues with no recurrence, although the alveolar crest appeared irregular on radiographs.

Jaws features in Type 1 Gaucher disease

PURPOSE

Our aims were to present 2 new cases of Gaucher disease involving the jaws and to review the literature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two new cases and the literature from 1982-2011 were reviewed.

RESULTS

Ten articles describing 35 cases (for a total of 37 with 2 new cases presented) were analyzed. The mandible and maxilla were affected in 97.3% and 24.3% of the reported cases, respectively. Generalized rarefaction of bone (osteopenia) was present in 83.8%, and well-defined radiolucent lesions in 40.5%. The effects on the surrounding structures included loss of cortication of the mandibular canal (56.7%), cortical bone thinning (27%), expansion, root resorption (24.3%), mandibular canal displacement (18.9%), cortical perforation, maxillary sinus obliteration, and tooth displacement (10.8%).

CONCLUSIONS

Two distinct bone abnormalities with separate pathophysiologies, radiographic presentation, and effects on the surrounding structures are suggested: 1) generalized mandibular/maxillary osteopenia and 2) a well-defined radiolucent lesion, which appears only in the mandible. This review refutes 2 accepted assumptions; according to the results, 1) the most common manifestation is generalized osteopenia (and the resulting mandibular canal changes), whereas the well-defined radiolucent lesion is the next most common, and 2) cortical bone thinning/perforations and lamina dura thinning are not uncommon in these patients.