DOI: 10.36347/sjds.2017.v04i05.005

Pages: 233-238

Osteoradionecrosis is a radiation induced disease of the jaw bones. During the past 80 years, a number of theories for the pathogenesis of ORN have been proposed, with consequent implications for its treatment. Until recently, the triad of hypoxia, hypocellularity, and hypo vascularity proposed by Robert Marx was accepted as the primary cause, leading to the use of hyberbaric oxygen therapy for both treatment and prevention of the disease. This article deals with a new theory of pathogenesis of ORN, which proposes that damage to bone is caused by “radiation induced fibrosis”. New treatments have therefore been devised, which include the use of pentoxyphylline and tocopherol for future treatment and prevention of ORN.