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Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Publisher & Chairman Torsten Oemus t.oemus@dental-tribune.com Chief Operating Officer Eric Seid e.seid@dental-tribune.com Group Editor & Designer Robin Goodman r.goodman@dental-tribune.com Editor in Chief Dental Tribune Dr. David L. Hoexter d.hoexter@dental-tribune.com Managing Editor/Designer Implant, Endo & Lab Tribunes Sierra Rendon s.rendon@dental-tribune.com Managing Editor/Designer Ortho Tribune & Show Dailies Kristine Colker k.colker@dental-tribune.com Online Editor Fred Michmershuizen f.michmershuizen@dental-tribune.com Product & Account Manager Mark Eisen m.eisen@dental-tribune.com Marketing Manager Anna Wlodarczyk a.wlodarczyk@dental-tribune.com Sales & Marketing Assistant Lorrie Young l.young@dental-tribune.com C.E. Manager Julia E. Wehkamp j.wehkamp@dental-tribune.com C.E. International Sales Manager Christiane Ferret c.ferret@dtstudyclub.com Dental Tribune America, LLC 116 West 23rd Street, Suite 500 New York, NY 10011 Tel.: (212) 244-7181 Fax: (212) 244-7185 Published by Dental Tribune America © 2011 Dental Tribune America, LLC All rights reserved. Dental Tribune strives to maintain the utmost accuracy in its news and clini- cal reports. If you find a factual error or content that requires clarification, please contact Group Editor Robin Goodman at r.goodman@dental-tribune.com. Dental Tribune cannot assume respon- sibility for the validity of product claims or for typographical errors. The pub- lisher also does not assume responsibility for product names or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not reflect those of Dental Tribune America. Dr. Joel Berg Dr. L. Stephen Buchanan Dr. Arnaldo Castellucci Dr. Gorden Christensen Dr. Rella Christensen Dr. William Dickerson Hugh Doherty Dr. James Doundoulakis Dr. David Garber Dr. Fay Goldstep Dr. Howard Glazer Dr. Harold Heymann Dr. Karl Leinfelder Dr. Roger Levin Dr. Carl E. Misch Dr. Dan Nathanson Dr. Chester Redhead Dr. Irwin Smigel Dr. Jon Suzuki Dr. Dennis Tartakow Dr. Dan Ward Editorial Board DENTAL TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Newspaper · US Edition Editor’s Corner DENTAL TRIBUNE | March 20112A If used appropriately, bisphos- phonates are a tremendous tool in treating osteoporosis. There is currently a great deal of confusing information over when and how to safely use them. Clearing up the confusion is important because more than 30 million people in the United States are currently suffering from osteo- porosis, and if they are not treated, they are at risk for osteoporotic fractures that seriously jeopardize their lives. At present, bisphosphonates are the best tool to reduce bone loss and significantly reduce the chance of these fractures. It is esti- mated that 24 percent of patients with osteoporotic fractures not treated by bisphosphonates will die because of these fractures. Recently, reports of osteone- crosis of the jaw (ONJ) associated with bisphosphonates have caused fear about using bisphosphonates. The reports by Dr. Marx and later by Dr. Ruggerio related osteone- crosis lesions after oral surgical procedures were done on patients in hospitals under IV bisphospho- nate administration. This article seeks to clarify some of the unknowns, or innuen- do, surrounding the fear of using bisphosphonates. As it was once wisely written: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Identifying the problem Today we have acquired fear about using certain medication for osteoporosis. Namely, bisphos- phonates and their relationship to osteonecrosis. Osteonecrosis is defined as the death of bone tissue due to an impaired blood supply. When the diagnosis of osteone- cosis is made, the cause is listed as definite causes and possible causes. Definite causes includes: alco- hol abuse, atherosclerosis, decom- Do you have general comments or criticism you would like to share? Is there a particular topic you would like to see more articles about? Let us know by e-mailing us at feedback@dental-tribune.com. If you would like to make any change to your subscription (name, address or to opt out) please send us an e-mail at database@dental-tribune.com and be sure to include which publication you are referring to. Also, please note that subscription changes can take up to 6 weeks to process. Tell us what you think! Genevieve M. Bauer, chair of the OHA Gala Committee, welcomed attendees. Also speaking were Dr. George Zehak, chair of the Chi- cago Dental Society Foundation, Dr. Keith Suchy, chair of the OHA board of directors, and Beth Truett, president and CEO of OHA. About 800 people attended the event, which raised $500,000 for Smiles Across America, NSTEP (National Spit Tobacco Educa- tion Program), the Wisdom Tooth Project, Medical Dental Dialogues and the Campaign for Oral Health Equity. DT Available at pattersondental.com • High final hardness - Shore-D 38 • Setting time about 60 s • Scanable for powderless 3D-data registration of antagonists (CAD/CAM) • High brightness and contrast • Perfect physical parameters • 2 Cartridges + 12 Mixing cannulas + CAD/CAM CIM T E C H N O L O GY IMP RESSIO N R dental Biß zur Perfektion RR-dental Dentalerzeugnisse GmbH E-mail: info@r-dental.com r-dental.com Universal and scanable registration material >> recommended by SIRONA for CEREC Bluecam METAL-BITE Blue TM Anzeige METAL-BITE Blue USA 2010 plus:METAL-BITE 2009/10 15.02.10 19:53 Seite 1 AD Chair of the OHA Gala Commit- tee Genevieve M. Bauer welcomes attendees at the annual Oral Health America Gala on Feb. 23. (Photo/ Mark Eisen, Dental Tribune) f DT page 1A By David L Hoexter, DMD, FACD, FICD Osteoporosis and bisphosphonates Fig. 1a (left): A cross section of normal, healthy bone. Fig. 1b (right): A cross section of osteoporotic bone. (Photos/Provided by Dr. David Hoexter) The administration of bisphosphonates, via an IV or orally, is an important distinction g DT page 3A