Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 59, Issue 5, September–October 2014, Pages 273-274
Dental Abstracts

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Maxillofacial trauma trends

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2014.05.040Get rights and content

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Background

Various factors appear to influence the incidence and etiology of maxillofacial fractures. Among these are geographic area, whether the population is urban or rural, population density, and socioeconomic status. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a significant cause of these fractures, along with assaults, sports injuries, occupational pursuits, domestic violence, and falls. Soft tissue injuries, neurologic trauma, and orthopedic injuries often accompany and are correlated significantly with

Methods

The records of patients with maxillofacial fractures were retrospectively studied over the two time periods at the authors' institution. Number of fractures, mechanism of injury, patient age, and mortality were compared.

Results

In the 1990 study, 152 midface and 306 mandibular fractures occurred, for a total of 458 maxillofacial fractures. Assault was the mechanism of injury for 48.8% of patients, MVCs for 39.1%, motorcycle collisions (MCCs) for 4%, sports injuries for 3.8%, falls for 3.6%, and occupational pursuits for 0.7%. In the 2010 study, 1313 midface and 418 mandibular fractures occurred, for a total of 1731 maxillofacial fractures. Some of the causative classes were merged for comparison purposes,

Discussion

The incidence of maxillofacial fractures increased significantly between the 1990 and 2010 studies. In addition, the population involved was older in the later study and was more likely to be injured in a fall.

Clinical Significance

Maxillofacial fractures are less likely to be caused by assault and to occur in younger patients and more likely to be caused by falls in elderly patients in the authors' institution. These findings indicate that it is important to have preventive programs and

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Martinez AY, Como JJ, Vacca M, et al: Trends in maxillofacial trauma: A comparison of two cohorts of patients at a single institution 20 years apart. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 72:750-754, 2014

Reprints available from AY Martinez, Div of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dept of Otolaryngology, Lenox Hill Hosp, New York, NY 10065; e-mail: [email protected]

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