Fosomax-type drugs linked to jaw necrosis

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Even short-term use of common oral osteoporosis drugs may leave the jaw vulnerable to necrosis -- death of cells -- U.S. researchers said.

Principal investigator Parish Sedghizadeh, assistant professor of clinical dentistry with the University Of Southern California School of Dentistry in Los Angeles said that Fosomax is the most widely prescribed oral bisphosphonate, and it ranks as the 21st most prescribed drug on the market since 2006.

After controlling for referral bias, nine of 208 healthy USC School of Dentistry patients who take or have taken Fosomax for any length of time were diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the jaw, Sedghizadeh said.

"We've been told that the risk with oral bisphosphonates is negligible, but 4 percent is not negligible," Sedghizadeh said in a statement. "Here at the School of Dentistry we're getting two or three new patients a week that have bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, and I know we're not the only ones seeing it."

The study's results are in contrast to drug makers' prior assertions that bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw risk is only noticeable with intravenous use of the drugs, not oral usage, Sedghizadeh said.

The danger is especially pronounced with procedures that directly expose the jaw bone, such as tooth extractions and other oral surgery, Sedghizadeh explained.