Intervention to improve awareness of the risk factors for osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients under treatment with bisphosponates. Randomised clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a health education programme on knowledge and reduction of the risk factors for bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw.

METHODS: An experimental study control group without intervention was performed with 60 subjects who had started treatment with bisphosphonates in the University Hospital of León from October to December 2014. Patients in the experimental group received a structured education intervention in two sessions. The data was collected from a heteroadministered questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the study period for both groups.

RESULTS: The educational intervention designed showed a significantly increased adherence to healthy behaviours related to oral hygiene such as mechanical control of plaque and the use of clorhexidine prior to invasive oral procedures. All subjects reported that they had not been advised to maintain a good level of oral health before starting treatment. After the intervention high percentages of recognition of early diagnostic measures starting from a baseline total ignorance of them were determined. No conclusive information about the use of removable dental prostheses, toxic habits or maintaining proper metabolic control in patients with diabetes mellitus was observed.

CONCLUSIONS: Improving adherence to healthy behaviours related to oral health following the intervention, as well as their contribution to the early identification of warning signs of jaw osteonecrosis, stresses the importance of the use of health education as a tool in routine clinical practice.