Jawbone Cavitations
Our goal is to help you eliminate these road blocks to balance and wellness in order to elevate the health of the entire body system to an optimal and sustainable level.
Jawbone Cavitations and your health
Jawbone cavitations, also referred to as “fatty-degenerative osteonecrosis/bone-marrow defects” (FDOJ/BMDJ), are increasingly recognized as silent, inflammatory lesions that can dysregulate local bone metabolism and immune signaling. Pioneering work by oral pathologist Dr. Jerry E. Bouquot characterized cavitary jawbone osteonecrosis (NICO lesions) histologically in 224 samples, documenting chronic inflammation in jawbones and marrow fibrosis in patients with neuralgic pain. Building on this foundation, Dr. Johann Lechner’s studies have repeatedly shown marked overexpression of the chemokine RANTES/CCL5 within cavitational tissues, proposing a mechanistic bridge between these jaw lesions and systemic immune dysregulation. His team has correlated jawbone-derived RANTES/CCL5 with illnesses including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid disease, and breast cancer.
Advantages of 3D Cone-Beam CT scans
Because these defects are often radiographically invisible on 2-D imaging, comprehensive 3-D assessment is essential. 3D Cone-Beam CT (CBCT) scans improve visualization of lesion extent, proximity to vital structures, and treatment planning compared with panoramic films, and is highlighted in the consensus guidance on cavitations by the IAOMT. (Lechner also notes that adjunctive modalities can help in select cases when density changes are subtle on CBCT, underscoring the importance of experienced interpretation.)
For definitive management, thorough cleaning and biological grafting that optimizes host healing is paramount. Professor Shahram Ghanaati’s work on platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and the Low-Speed Centrifugation Concept (LSCC) demonstrates that lower g-forces yield PRF matrices with higher cellular content and sustained growth-factor release—favorable conditions for bone regeneration in cleaned cavitation sites. Dr. Blodgett is one of only a handful of dentists in the world to have trained directly with Professor Ghanaati learning his ”Guided Open Would Healing” protocol and is currently a member of the international Academy of Medical and Oral Regeneration (AMOR) group led and directed by Prof. Ghanaati.
To aid in the most accurate diagnoses of your jawbones and potential cavitations, Dr. Blodgett uses the Visiogenics scan analysis process, a system only available to the students of Prof. Ghanaati. After creating a 3D CBCT scan of your jawbones and being assessed by Dr. Blodgett, the scan data is sent to Germany for the highest level of analysis. The color-coded report that is returned makes your understanding of the extent of cavitations easy to understand.
At Blodgett Dental Care, we integrate these insights: meticulous 3D CBCT-guided diagnosis, thorough debridement of necrotic bone marrow, and reconstruction using Professor Ghanaati’s biologically principled grafting protocols. Dr. Kelly J. Blodgett is among the very few dentists worldwide who has trained directly with Professor Ghanaati to develop the diagnostic and clinical skills necessary to treat jawbone cavitations properly.
Taken together, the pathology defined by Bouquot and the immune-chemokine data from Lechner indicate that untreated cavitations may perpetuate systemic immune activation with associations reported in cancer and autoimmune conditions. This makes accurate diagnosis and biologic reconstruction not just a dental priority, but one that is focused on your whole health.
Our team at Blodgett Dental Care is here to help you sort through the challenges of understanding why your health is not feeling optimized. The majority of dentists have not learned about or even heard of jawbone cavitations which can make understanding their existence and significance to your health quite difficult. To better understand your own oral health from a biological perspective, you deserve to work with the very best. Please call us or send a message from this website today to learn how we can help you to feel whole again!