Oral osteoporosis meds appear to reduce the risk of jaw degradation

BOSTON, Mass. (Jan. 2, 2008) — Athanasios Zavras began receiving messages from distraught patients in 2005 after case reports linked oral osteoporosis meds to bone death in the jaw. A number of doctors and dentists advised women and men taking these drugs to postpone dental work, fearing that procedures such as tooth extractions would exacerbate the problem. That’s when Zavras, an associate professor in the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, decided to take a closer look at the purported link.