Study links osteoporosis drugs to jaw problems

The proportion of people taking widely prescribed oral osteoporosis drugs who develop a nasty jaw condition may be much higher than previously thought, a new study suggests. Previous reports had indicated that the risk of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw from bisphosphonates in pill form were "negligible." But an assistant professor of clinical dentistry at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry in Los Angeles, says his clinic is seeing one to four new cases a week, according to a study in the January 1 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.