An osteoporosis medication could help heal bone damage in patients with periodontal disease. Most current treatments for severe gum disease have not been very successful in regrowing bone structure in the mouth, but this new angle could result in a successful option.
Osteoporosis Drug and Oral Surgery
A University of Michigan study focused on two groups of patients with chronic periodontal disease. Patients in both groups received the traditional surgical treatment on one quadrant of the mouth. One group then received injections of the osteoporosis drug teriparatide for six weeks, supplemented by calcium and vitamin D, while patients in the other group received a placebo. Within one year, the teriparatide group saw their bone levels improve by 29%, compared to improvement of 3% in the placebo patients.
Treatment for Bone Damage
Most osteoporosis drugs work by preventing bone loss, but this treatment is the only one approved in the U.S. to actually rebuild or grow bone structure. Teriparatide is a type of parathyroid hormone, and a research lab at the University has spent nearly two decades trying to understand how it works.
Researchers have found that this teriparatide treatment actually works better in procedures that require healing (like surgery or fractures) than in bones that need to rebuild from degenerative damage. Scientists are now researching how treatments like this could apply to site-specific bone injuries or procedures like dental implants.
Read more: Medical News Today
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