Antiresorptive related osteonecrosis of the jaw has dropped dramatically in Australia since the introduction of routine dental checks, endocrinologists say.

Led by Dr le-Wen Sim from the University of Melbourne the research team found that since the introduction of routine dental checks in 2008 osteonecrosis rates had dropped from 4.6% to 0.8% among cancer patients treated at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

The findings reinforce the importance of increased awareness and enhanced dental intervention in the prevention of medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw, they concluded in the paper published in JCEM.

However they noted that the findings may not be applicable to patients prescribed antiresorptives for osteoporosis as the incidence of the complication in this population was much lower.