Oral Bisphosphonate therapy and its impact on oral health

Evening lecture with Dr J Suzuki

Why travel North (M6) to Manchester Airport on a freezing cold evening, straight from an extremely busy surgery day? Well, certainly not for a holiday flight, but to hear a lecture from the world renowned Dr John Suzuki DDS, PhD, MBA, speak on

‘Oral Bisphosphonate therapy and its impact on oral health’.

Dr Suzuki is a world expert on this subject, sitting on numerous high profile committees in the USA. He has formulated the policy for several associations on the dental treatment of patients taking bisphosphonates and has been asked to produce a guidance paper for the British Association of Implantology.

Bisphosophonates are widely prescribed for osteoporosis and in treatment of breast cancer. Recently, it was noticed that a small percentage of people (3.5% with oral medication, 20% with intravenous medication) suffered problems in the jawbone after tooth extraction or surgery to the jaws. Dental professionals need to be aware of the risk when treatment planning. It is important not to discontinue treatment unless advised to do so by your physician. The benefits are immense and long lasting. Discontinuation is pointless for dental procedures. However, he stresses the need for regular dental visits, early treatment for dental problems and maintaining very healthy oral hygiene with regular, frequent visits to the hygienist.

It proved to be a very instructive and valuable evening. The pity was only about 30 dentists attended.