Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws and dental surgery procedures in children and young people with osteogenesis imperfecta: A systematic review

Background Bisphosphonates (BPs) contrast the bone fragility and improve bone density in some metastatic cancers and bone diseases, such as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). BPs use has been associated with osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJs) in adults needing for invasive dental procedures. Aim To conduct a systematic review on BRONJ occurrence after dental surgery in paediatric population under BPs therapy for OI, so as to identify the pre-surgical protocols adopted. Design According to PRISMA guidelines, Pubmed, Web of Science (WoS) and Cochrane were investigated on September 2018, and re-checked on July 2019. Inclusion criteria were English-language papers on children/young adults (until 24 years old) reporting dental/oral surgery procedures. Results Totally, 60 articles were found. After title/abstract reviews and duplicates exclusion, 22 eligible titles underwent full-text evaluation. Finally, 10 studies were included. Conclusions The lack of BRONJ occurrence in paediatric population suffering OI and treated with BPs, was confirmed, but the reasons are still debated, being the BPs therapies and the surgical strategies various and not standardized. Longitudinal studies should evaluate what happens to those former children once adult, to evaluate the delayed BRONJs onset associated with the occurrence of comorbidities during the adulthood.