What is "osteonecrosis of the jaw"?

What is "osteonecrosis of the jaw"?

Frederick Singer (Director of the Endocrine/Bone Disease Program, John Wayne Cancer Institute ) gives expert video advice on: Are there side effects related to drugs used to treat osteoporosis? and more...

There has been recent publicity about a very strange and unusual condition called osteonecrosis of the jaw. This is a condition in which the gums in a certain area of the jaw are eroded and below that the bone is more or less destroyed. This can be very painful, of course. This has occurred in a very tiny percentage of patients with osteoporosis who have taken bisphosphonate drugs. It occurs a little more frequently in cancer patients who are given these drugs interveneously and in much higher doses, so that there is a belief among certain doctors that the bisphosphonate drugs can rarely cause this unfortunate side effect.