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Objectives: To determine whether coadjuvant antineoplastic treatment can influence the number and size of bone
exposures among patients with intravenous bisphosphonaterelated osteonecrosis of the jaws (iBRONJ), and to
analyze the buccodental condition of these patients.
Material and methods: The study sample comprised 67 patients with iBRONJ, 53 patients without iBRONJ receiving treatment with intravenous bisphosphonates, and 36 healthy subjects. In all three groups, measurements were
made of the CAO index and of resting whole saliva and stimulated whole saliva. In the patients with iBRONJ, the
size (cm) and number of bone exposures were recorded. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance
(ANOVA), the Mann-Whitney U-test, and multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: A total of 57.6% of the patients presented single bone exposure, 25.4% presented two, and 17% more
than two exposures. The mean exposure size was 2.3±1.9 cm. Neither the bivariate analysis nor the multivariate
multiple regression analysis found coadjuvant antineoplastic treatment to exert a statistically significant effect
upon the number and size of bone exposures. On the other hand, there were statistically significant differences
among the three study groups in relation to the CAO index (p=0.02) and the number of missing teeth (p=0.00).
The resting whole saliva and stimulated whole saliva levels were similar in the three groups, though the patients
with osteonecrosis of the jaws showed comparatively lower SWS levels.
Conclusions: Coadjuvant antineoplastic treatment alone appears to exert no influence upon the size and number of bone
exposures in iBRONJ. The patients with this disease show a higher CAO index and a larger number of missing teeth.
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