Incongruities in the AAOMS Position Paper: Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw—2014 Update

Abstract

This letter is written to alert the readers of this Journal that there are several statements in the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons’ (AAOMS) recent position paper entitled “Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw—2014 Update” 1 Ruggiero S.L. Dodson T.B. Fantasia J. et al. American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons position paper on medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw-2014 update. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2014; 72: 1938 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1461) Google Scholar that we believe may befuddle consultations between surgeons and physicians, hampering effective treatment of patients. We are specifically troubled by the document’s reportage of the prevalence rates of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) arising in patients with decreased bone mineral density receiving therapy by different routes. American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons position Paper on Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws- 2014 UpdateJournal of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeryVol. 72Issue 12PreviewWe thank Drs Chang, Hazboun, and Chang for their insightful comments. One of the committee's guiding rules during the literature review and preparation of this update was to limit the data analysis to recent studies with the highest level of evidence (eg, systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials [RCTs] or prospective cohort studies) that firmly established the presence of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ). The prevalence rates for ONJ in the clinical setting of osteoporosis that we reported for ONJ, with oral and yearly bisphosphonate (BP) exposure, were those rates that were published in the current literature from large studies with good design. Full-Text PDF