Residual (ghost) sockets in bisphosphonate use--evidence of poor healing and slow bone turnover.

Patients taking bisphosphonate drug therapy have demonstrated extremely poor alveolar bone healing after relatively minor oral surgical procedures. It would seem logical that extraction sockets could remain visible radiographically for an extended period after surgery, even in cases with soft tissue healing. This article chronicles the case of a patient who had been taking zoledronic acid chronically for metastatic cancer and who demonstrated numerous residual sockets (also known as ghost sockets), with lamina dura outlines that were visible radiographically.