Osteoporosis Patients Require Dentist-Physician Collaboration

Due to the significant implications of osteoporosis in older patients, it’s crucial that both dentists and physicians collaborate in order to better perfect early detection as well as treatment for patients who may be at risk for developing the condition. This is according to authors of literature, titled “Osteoporosis and Its Implications for Dental Patients,” published in the Journal of the American Dental Association .

These authors, who reviewed dental and medical literature in order to examine the effects of osteoporosis on U.S. public health, also evaluated the implications of patients who are at risk for or have osteoporosis being provided dental care.

Osteoporosis can be summed up as a disorder that both weakens and thins a person’s bones. The bones then become delicate and easily breakable, specifically the bones of the wrist, hip, and spine. Of the millions in the U.S. who are at risk for or have osteoporosis, most don’t know they have the disease until their bones to start to break easily—regular bone mineral density tests are often the surest way of checking bone health and detecting osteoporosis early.

As per the researchers, the literature they studied specified that osteoporosis and its resulting fractures are much more common than other conditions, such as breast cancer, stroke, and coronary disease. Fractures that result from osteoporosis can seriously affect a person’s quality of life while also resulting in functional impairment and raised health care costs.

The authors also found that the medical management of a condition like osteoporosis involves weight-bearing exercises, diet control, a ceasing of both alcohol and tobacco intake, and using medication, such as calcitonin, selective estrogen receptor modulators, bisphosphonates, and anabolic agents, that has been linked with the onset of osteonecrosis (literally meaning bone death) in the jaw.

With all of this in mind, it can be determined that proper oral health care is especially important for individuals who suffer from osteoporosis. As well, changes in bisphosphonate therapy or a similar medical treatment plan should happen only after patients have consulted with their regular physician. "Dentists need to understand osteoporosis, its treatments, and its complications to provide adequate care," the authors wrote as part of their article.

All oral health care professionals, as concluded by the authors, who are involved in the dental care of osteoporosis patients, especially those who are using oral bisphosphonates as part of their treatment, should confer with their patient's physician regarding the patient’s care decisions.

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