Sclerosis in bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws and its correlation with the clinical stages: study of 43 cases.

We analysed the degree of sclerosis in the different stages of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) and studied the relation between the grade of sclerosis, the clinical symptoms, and the depth of lucency. We compared 43 patients with mandibular BRONJ with a control group of 40 cases with no bony lesions. The presence of sclerotic bone, cortical irregularities, radiolucency, fragmentation or sequestration, periostitis, and narrowing of the mandibular canal were studied from computed tomographic (CT) scans using the program ImageJ 1.47v (National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA) to measure the radiolucency, width of the cortices, and degree of sclerosis. Patients with BRONJ had more severe sclerosis than controls (p<0.01). There was also a significant difference among the different stages of BRONJ, with the highest values found in stage III (p=0.02). The degree of sclerosis differed according to sex, type of bisphosphonate, and the clinical characteristics such as pain, or suppuration, but not significantly so (p>0.05). We conclude that the degree of sclerosis increases with the clinical stage of BRONJ, and is correlated with the depth of lucency.

Staging of osteonecrosis of the jaw requires computed tomography for accurate definition of the extent of bony disease.

Management of osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with antiresorptive agents is challenging, and outcomes are unpredictable. The severity of disease is the main guide to management, and can help to predict prognosis. Most available staging systems for osteonecrosis, including the widely-used American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) system, classify severity on the basis of clinical and radiographic findings. However, clinical inspection and radiography are limited in their ability to identify the extent of necrotic bone disease compared with computed tomography (CT). We have organised a large multicentre retrospective study (known as MISSION) to investigate the agreement between the AAOMS staging system and the extent of osteonecrosis of the jaw (focal compared with diffuse involvement of bone) as detected on CT. We studied 799 patients with detailed clinical phenotyping who had CT images taken. Features of diffuse bone disease were identified on CT within all AAOMS stages (20%, 8%, 48%, and 24% of patients in stages 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Of the patients classified as stage 0, 110/192 (57%) had diffuse disease on CT, and about 1 in 3 with CT evidence of diffuse bone disease was misclassified by the AAOMS system as having stages 0 and 1 osteonecrosis. In addition, more than a third of patients with AAOMS stage 2 (142/405, 35%) had focal bone disease on CT. We conclude that the AAOMS staging system does not correctly identify the extent of bony disease in patients with osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Evaluation of the severity of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritic changes related to age using cone beam computed tomography.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate and correlate with age the severity of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritic changes using cone beam CT (CBCT). METHODS: The images of 71 patients with findings of degenerative arthritis were retrieved from the computer data base. All patients had been examined with CBCT (NewTom 9000 QR-DVT). Left and right TMJs were evaluated independently for each patient. TMJ evaluation included: (a) bony changes of the condyle (flattening, erosion, sclerosis, osteophytes, resorption); (b) joint space (normal, increased, reduced, bony contact between the condyle and the mandibular fossa); and (c) bony changes of mandibular fossa (normal, sclerosis, erosion, resorption). The radiographic findings were statistically analysed. RESULTS: Significant differences in the mean age were found: (a) between absent and moderate erosion (P = 0.019), as well as between absent and extensive erosion (P = 0.048); (b) between absent and extensive formation of osteophyte (P = 0.003), as well as between slight and extensive formation of osteophyte (P = 0.025); (c) between normal joint space and bony contact (P = 0.0002), as well as between reduced joint space and bony contact (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Degenerative arthritis is an age-related disease. The progression and severity of osseous changes in the condylar head and mandibular fossa are increased with age. In older age groups, patients are expected to have more frequent and severe progressive degenerative bony changes due to the development of TMJ osteoarthritis than patients in younger age groups.

A 5-year follow-up of occlusal status and radiographic findings in mandibular condyles of the elderly.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present 5-year follow-up was to clarify the nature of occlusal support status and radiographic changes in condyles of the elderly, and the association between these two variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is part of a comprehensive medical survey of a random sample born in 1904, 1909, and 1914. A total of 364 subjects living in Helsinki participated in the dental part of the examination during 1990 to 1991, and after 5 years a total of 103 were reexamined. Comprehensive data on occlusal support status were available for 94 subjects, and radiographic data were available for 88 subjects. Occlusal support status was assessed on the basis of the Eichner index, radiographic changes were assessed from panoramic radiographs, and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders were assessed using Helkimo's anamnestic index. RESULTS: The most frequent radiographic finding in the mandibular joint was flattening of the articular surface of the condyle associated with osteoarthrosis, found at baseline in 17% and during follow-up in 13% of the subjects. During the 5-year follow-up, Eichner index for natural dentition remained unaltered in 94% of the subjects and in 85% of the subjects when removable dentures were included. There were no radiographic changes in 92% of the cases. No differences based on age or gender were found. A logistic regression model revealed associations between the selected baseline factors. The odds ratio for baseline Helkimo's anamnestic index was 4.1, 5.7 for Eichner index with the support of removable dentures, and 356 for radiographic findings. CONCLUSION: Radiographic changes in condyles of elderly people were small during the 5-year follow-up, but baseline radiographic findings, Helkimo's anamnestic index, and Eichner index with removable dentures were risk factors for radiographic findings at the end of the follow-up.

Results of treatment of 22 navicular stress fractures and a new proposed radiographic classification system.

Twenty-two navicular stress fractures sustained during athletic activity were retrospectively reviewed for return to activity time and the appearance of fracture pattern on computerized tomography. There were 10 females and nine males, with the average patient age being 27.2 years. Three patients sustained bilateral injuries at separate times. Average follow-up was 36.5 months. Nine patients underwent open reduction, internal fixation (some with bone grafting); this group's average return to activity (RTA) was 3.1 +/- 1.2 months (range, 1.5-5 months). Thirteen patients treated conservatively had an average return to activity of 4.3 +/- 2.8 months (range, 2-13 months). The difference between the two groups' RTA was significant (p = .02). Eleven patients utilized pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) and had an average RTA of 4.2 +/- 3.4 months, 27.3% of those patients with PEMF also had surgery. Two conservatively treated fractures that took 5 and 8 months to RTA, respectively, re-fractured during the treatment process. Retrospective review showed CT fracture patterns in the frontal plane that were classified as: dorsal cortical break (type I), fracture propagation into the navicular body (type II), and fracture propagation into another cortex (type III). This is a proposed classification system. It includes modifiers "A" (avascular necrosis of a portion of the navicular); "C" (cystic changes of the fracture), and "S" (sclerosis of the margins of the fracture), the latter of which was most common in our series, particularly in continually symptomatic patients. Type I fractures were more likely to receive conservative treatment (p = .02) and type III fractures took significantly longer to heal than types I and II (p values .001 and .01, respectively). Type I and II injuries had an average RTA of 3.0 and 3.6 months, respectively. Type III injuries had an average RTA of 6.8 months. Based on our findings, we recommend surgery for patients with these modifiers, particularly with type II and III injuries. Conservative treatment may be prolonged, and requires at least 6 weeks of nonweightbearing in a below-knee cast/boot to be successful.

Noninflammatory sclerosis of the sternal end of the clavicle: a follow-up study and review of the literature.

The cases of 14 adult females with swelling, tenderness, and sclerosis of the inferomedial part of the clavicle are presented. They were seen during a 16-year period, suggesting that the condition is rare. In ten patients strain at the sternoclavicular joint seemed to be an etiological factor. Eleven patients were followed for periods of 1-13 years (mean 5 years). The clavicular sclerosis regressed and they all developed signs of osteoarthrosis. Based upon available biopsy results and review of reported cases, it is hypothesized that the radiographic changes are due to osteonecrosis of the medial end of the clavicle with subsequent development of osteoarthrosis.

Mixed-sclerosing-bone-dystrophy: 42-year follow-up of a case reported as osteopetrosis.

We present a detailed metabolic investigation and 42-year radiological follow-up of a 52-year-old man with mixed-sclerosing-bone-dystrophy, the rare occurrence of two or more distinct patterns of sclerosing-bone-dysplasia (e.g., osteopathia striata, osteopoikilosis, melorheostosis) in a single subject. Review of radiographs from 1942, when he was reported to have osteopetrosis, demonstrated diffuse osteosclerosis, osteopathia striata, osteopoikilosis, and focal cortical hyperostosis. Forty-two years later, there had been significant progression and evolution of his skeletal disease with the appearance of new areas of osteopathia striata and osteopoikilosis and a generalized increase in skeletal mass as assessed radiographically. Presence of subperiosteal bone apposition on biopsy of the iliac crest together with chronic mild hypocalcemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and hypophosphatemia suggested that enhanced bone formation, perhaps with defective skeletal resorption, is a fundamental abnormality which accounts for the increased bone mass of this patient.

Mixed-sclerosing-bone-dystrophy: report of a case and review of the literature.

We present clinical, laboratory, radiologic, genetic, and pathologic findings in a 49-year-old man with mixed-sclerosing-bone-dystrophy (MSBD), review the six cases previously reported as "MSBD", and examine the nosology of this rare bone dysplasia. Our asymptomatic patient showed radiographic changes consistent with osteopoikilosis, osteopathia striata, and melorheostosis and had widespread osteosclerosis of the axial skeleton. Several previous reports of combined osteosclerotic disorders suggest the latter finding represents osteopetrosis, however, histologic examination of our patient's iliac crest excluded that diagnosis. Limited radiographic surveys of his eight children were unremarkable except for isolated bone islands in two sons. Literature review revealed that "MSBD" has actually been used generically to describe the association of a variety of osteosclerotic bone dysplasias when they occur together in a single patient.