Medication Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: A Conservative Approach

Abstract

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw is a well-known condition to the oral and maxillofacial surgeon despite being considered rare. In recent epidemiologic studies, the incidence of MRONJ was found to be between < 0.05% among patient taking antiresorptive medications for osteoporosis and ∼1.5% for cancer therapy. The pathophysiology is believed to be multifactorial involving bone remodeling inhibition, inflammation/infection, angiogenesis inhibition, dysfunctional immunity and genetics. Most recently, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons (AAOMS) released an updated position paper (2022) for guidelines regarding diagnosis and management of this condition.