Bisphosphonate therapy and ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint: is there a relationship? A case report.

Bisphosphonates are an effective class of drugs used for various pathologies of bone tissues such as osteoporosis and solid malignant metastatic disease. Although reports on adverse events such as bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw are common, ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint in an older patient that is possibly associated with bisphosphonate treatment has not, to our knowledge, been previously reported. The patient, a 70-year-old woman with none of the usual causes for ankylosis, presented with bilateral ankylosis to the temporomandibular joints on a background of bisphosphonate treatment. No obvious etiologic factor for the bilateral ankylosis was found; thus, this might represent another complication of bisphosphonate therapy that dentists and physicians need to be aware of. The approach to management of the ankylosis is described.