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Imaging Modalities and Characteristics in Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw

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Abstract

Though diagnosis itself is based on anamnesis and clinical presentation, imaging occupies an integral part of the management of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ). Various radiographic signs may be seen on panoramic radiographs, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), or multislice CT (MSCT) like sclerosis, persisting alveolar sockets, and lack of bone filling in extractions sites, osteolysis, and sequestration. While panoramic radiographs serve as a baseline diagnostic tool, computed tomography (CT) or cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide three-dimensional information of osteonecrotic lesions and may aid in assessing the extent of necrosis, monitoring the disease, and detecting early lesions. Anyway, no imaging modality is able to reliably depict the margins of a necrosis so far. CT and MRI offer a wide spectrum of findings but those are often not very specific. In the future, nuclear medicine imaging like combined SPECT/CT or PET/CT may further improve the diagnosis of MRONJ by combining functional and anatomical information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Munich (LMU), Lindwurmstr. 2a, Munich, 80337, Germany

    Florian A. Probst MD, DDS

  2. Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Ismaningerstr. 22, Munich, 81675, Germany

    Monika Probst MD

  3. Department of Neuroradiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, Tübingen, 72076, Germany

    Sotirios Bisdas MD, PhD, MSc

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  1. Florian A. Probst MD, DDS
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  2. Monika Probst MD
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  3. Sotirios Bisdas MD, PhD, MSc
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Correspondence to Florian A. Probst MD, DDS .

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  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sur, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Sven Otto

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Probst, F.A., Probst, M., Bisdas, S. (2015). Imaging Modalities and Characteristics in Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw. In: Otto, S. (eds) Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43733-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43733-9_6

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