Mandibular fractures in children: long term results.

Mandibular fractures in children treated in our department between March 1994 and January 2001 were retrospectively studied. Age, sex, type of fracture, etiology and evolution after treatment, functional mobility and maximal mouth opening were recorded. The population consisted of 19 patients who sustained 30 fractures. The patients ages ranged from 1.5 to 18 years. The mean time of follow up was 28 months. The male to female ratio was 1.7:1. Traffic and bicycle accidents were the main causes of the fractures. The condyle was involved in 16% of the cases, the subcondylar region in 28%. Fractures were multiple in half of the cases. Isolated fractures of the condyloid joint were treated conservatively. For isolated subcondylar fractures, maxillomandibular fixation was the treatment in 40% of the cases. Otherwise, conservative functional treatment was used. Children with a combination of body and condyle fractures were treated by open reduction and maxillomandibular fixation. Neither infection nor retarded facial growth was observed. Only one case of ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and one case of temporomandibular pain syndrome were recorded. Associated lesions might concern the extremities, the brain and the cervical spine.