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← Return to Dental work while on Reclast
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Welcome to Connect, @hilotpilot A certain amount of care and precautions are necessary when having dental work while on medications for prevention of bone loss, such as Reclast, Fosamax and others. Treatments such as prophylaxis, restorations, crowns, bridges, nonsurgical root canal treatments and nonsurgical periodontal treatment are generally thought to be safe.
Implants, extractions or oral surgery, where the bone around the teeth are impacted, can have small potentials for osteonecrosis. If your dentist is recommending dental work that will involve the bone, it’s usually suggested to postpone elective dental surgery. There are protocols for dentists, oral surgeons, periodontists, etc., to follow to minimize any side effects.
On a positive note, osteonecrosis occurrences aren’t common and are more prone to happen with patients who are undergo chemo or certain drugs. It’s usually localized to an area and can be corrected with treatments such as medicated oral rinses, antibiotics and sometimes surgery of the impacted area.
What type of work are you having done? Collaboration between doctors is important to a positive outcome. Have you discussed this with your dentist and the physician who prescribed the Reclast?
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Hi Lori. Thank you for reaching out to me.
About three months ago I was chasing my neighbor's dog out of the street. I hit the curb and fell down knocking out 4 crowns. I was hoping to get the crowns replaced anyway, as they were quite old. My dentist said there was a small cavity under one of the crowns and she would fix it.
My dentist went on vacation and another dentist stepped and said more work needed to be done. He and were talking and I mentioned I had had a major back surgery. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with an infection and the metal in my body was rejecting the infection. I had five surgeries to remove most of the metal. He also expressed concern about this. When I told him I had 5 infusions of Reclast for osteoporosis, he became very unsure of the root canal procedures and teeth implants. He suggested I see a surgeon and endodontist.
He briefly described experience with a patient. I told him I knew nothing about the medications side effects. I was sure there would be no issues because I am a very healthy woman.
I realized I was never told of side effects from Reclast, I called my family physician who has prescribed the infusions and he had never heard of anything like my dentist relayed to me. For two weeks I vacillated from concern, to this was just another medical moneymaking thing. I called the hospital center and requested information sheets as to the side effects, etc. of Reclast. Well, was I surprised when an entire section of the medicine information dedicated a large section about dental work and what could be done to my jaws if I got infections. I am infection prone anyways.
I saw the endodontist and he assured me that going to a surgeon was not necessary and he and my dentist would treat me. The root canal procedure is July 1st.
I go on the internet for information for many different information, as I believe knowledge is "
power." Never do I do diagnosis. When I found out about your site, I was thrilled.
One question I have is this: Should I be taking antibiotics now before the procedure?
Doctors usually give Reclast to women who are in the aging process. Also at this time, a lot of us face dental work that can be more involved than in the past, I made up my mind to always request information on drugs that are ad ministered in the office.
Lori, I look forward to reading the comments. People who have had issues arise that they can share to others is a very important source of knowledge!