title: Alendronate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaws: a review of the main topics.
abstract: Bisphosphonates is a group of inorganic pyrophosphates analogues that suppress bone resorption by inducing osteoclast inactivation, being frequently used for management of diseases affecting bone metabolism, bone metastases and bone tumors. However, since 2003 many cases describing the presence of necrotic bone exposures in the jaws have been described in patients receiving these drugs, what represent a signiﬁcant complication of bisphosphonates treatment. The overall incidence of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws is low, ranging from 0.7% to 12%, mainly observed in those patients receiving intravenously treatment. Osteonecrosis of the jaws associated to oral bisphosphonate, particularly alendronate, has also been reported by a number of authors. Considering that alendronate is one of the most used drug worldwide, specially for treatment of osteoporosis, a better understanding of osteonecrosis of the jaws related to its use and how to manage these patients is extremely important. Therefore, in the current manuscript the authors aim to review the most important topics related to this pathological presentation.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba - UNICAMP, Departamento de Diagnóstico Oral - Semiologia, Av. Limeira, 901 CEP 13.414-903, Piracicaba - São Paulo - Brasil, malopes@fop.unicamp.br.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paiva-Fonseca
authors.forename: A-R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Santos-Silva
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Della-Coletta
authors.forename: P-A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: M-A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D019386:Alendronate / Q000009:adverse effects*; D059266:Bisphosphonate-Associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw / Q000209:etiology*; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D019386:Alendronate