Analysis of the Pattern of Mandibular Fractures in Pretoria, SA

Objective: The objective of this retrospective study was to study the etiology, distribution, treatment modalities and complications of patients who attended the Maxillo-Facial and Oral Surgery unit at the School of Dentistry, University of Pretoria for the treatment of madibular fractures. Method: The records of all patients who presented at the MFOS unit with mandibular fractures between Jan 1999 and Dec 2003 were captured on a data form specifically designed for this purpose. The data were then analysed using the Statistix 8 programme. Results: Of the 251 patients who attended the unit, 80.3% were in the age group 21 to 40 years. The majority of the patients (82.9%) were male. Assault (70.1%) was the most common cause of injury followed by road traffic accidents (14.3%) and falls (10.4%). Of the 251 cases 37.1% occurred bilateral, 35.5% on the left side and 27.5% on the right side. With regard to the location of the fracture on the mandible, the majority of the fractures occurred on the corpus (44.5%, left) and (51.3%, right), followed by fractures in the area of the symphysis (parasymphyseal) (16.5% left and 18.1% right). In the majority of cases (64%) a closed reduction approach involving intermaxillary fixation was followed with the management of these cases. Complications were reported in 11.6% of the 251 cases of which malunion (34.5%) was the most prevalent type of complication. Conclusions: Mandibular fractures are more common in males in the age range 21 to 40 years. Interpersonal violence was the main cause of the fractures. The majority of mandibular fractures occurred on the corpus while malunion was the most prevalent type of complication.