Mandibular Sites Prone to Fracture: Analysis of 174 Cases in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Background: Mandibular fracture is an important surgical condition in our environment and elsewhere in the world. Objective: The purpose of this study is to clinically determine the most common sites of the mandible prone to fracture. Patients and method: This two-year prospective study was carried out at the Dental and Maxillofacial clinic, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, in 2007 and 2008. Results: One hundred and seventy four patients’ ages between six to 70 years (mean 28.7± 5.3 years) were studied. One hundred and forty two (81.6%) of them were males and 32 (18.4%) females, with a male/female ratio of 4.4:1.Road traffic accident significantly (χ²=17.1607, P=0.0087) accounted for 139 (79.9%) of the fractures. There were 244 fracture sites in the 174 patients, with the body of the mandible being significantly (χ²=21, P=0.0008) affected than other sites in fracture (n= 115, 47.1%). However, 96 (39.3%) and 132 (54.1%) of the fractures occurred on the right and left sides of the mandible respectively. Most patients had single (44.3%) and double (31.6%) fractures and this finding was significant (χ²=60.9314, P=0.0000). The patients encountered were fully (62.6%) and partially dentate (37.4%). The fractures were successfully treated by conservative method, closed reduction and open reduction techniques. Conclusion: This study shows that the tooth-bearing portion, body, left and right sides of the mandible are most commonly prone to fracture when multiple aetiologies are considered.

Keywords: Mandible, site, fracture, Calabar

Ghana Medical Journal, September 2011, Volume 45, Number 3