Qualitative focus group interview study of communication between patients, dentists and physicians for efficient osteonecrosis of the jaw practices

OBJECTIVES: To investigate problems and the current status of existing methods of communication between patients, dentists and physicians for the prevention and treatment of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). DESIGN: A focus group interview study with a descriptive design using qualitative content analysis of transcripts. SETTING: Secondary care in Korea. PARTICIPANTS: 3 patient groups and 4 health professional groups in a total of 32 participants including patients with osteoporosis or bone metastasis, dentists and physicians. RESULTS: This study revealed that patients lacked medical knowledge of osteoporosis drugs, whereas dentists and physicians lacked each other’s expertise. All patients reported undergoing dental treatments during the osteoporosis drug treatment, but dentists and physicians had different MRONJ experiences depending on their work setting in primary or secondary care. Patients expressed dissatisfaction with the current system of communication with health professionals via letter as they found this to be a slow process. Dentists and physicians reported the need for effective communication because they felt defensive when sending and receiving medical consults. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the low incidence of MRONJ among patients with osteoporosis, it is difficult to treat; thus, it is necessary to inform dentists, physicians and patients about the importance of MRONJ prevention. To this end, close communication among all involved stakeholders about osteoporosis drugs is required.