Phappsburg, MENellie Berry was prescribed Fosamax seven years ago for osteoporosis. Rather than help build bone density, it appears to be doing the opposite: Nellie is suffering from jaw bone loss, and she is only 39 years old.
According to Nellie and countless others and contrary to what Merck claims, Fosamax actually causes bone loss, not reverses it.
"Each time I go back to the doctor I have a bone scan but Fosamax isn't working. Instead, it is causing me severe dental problems and my gums are receding. My teeth are loose and lately I have been getting a lot of cavities, even though I brush and take care of my oral hygiene. Seems like the more dental work I have done, the worse it gets. For a while I was going to the dentist every month and he says that to save my teeth I needed to get porcelain crowns, but they are too expensive, even with dental insurance.
I am probably going to lose my teeth. The last time I went to my dentist he said my gums were too weak to have any dental work done. He looked at my panorex xrays (an xray of the entire jaw bone) again and noticed bone loss in my jaw. He told me that my jaw bone can be built back up but it is so complicated that the cure sounds worse than the problem.
I had no idea why my jaw bone density was getting so low, until I saw a TV commercial just two weeks ago about Fosamax and it said that this drug could cause jaw rot, which I assumed would be the jaw bone breaking down. Then it all hit home; when I thought of all the dental work I was having it made sense. I immediately stopped taking Fosamax. I am going to inform both my dentist and my doctor that I think Fosamax may be the cause of my problems.
My jaw aches and my receding gums are sore and bleeding. I have small features anyway but I have this shrinking feeling - it could be my imagination because it may not be visible yet, but I am scared about the future - Fosamax is supposed to build bone back - not take it away. I have read all the information about Fosamax and have never seen any warnings or side effects on their label about jaw loss. I don't think anyone knows enough about this drug; it definitely should not be on the market."