Strategies for the study of long-term sequelae of oral and facial injuries.

Measurement of morbidity after orofacial trauma is necessary to monitor progress and to enable decisions to be made concerning surgical intervention, compensation awards, and psychological support. Although some measurements are routinely made in the assessment of recovery after trauma, many are still in a developmental phase or have only been used in research work. There is a need for a rational, comprehensive, quantitative means of assessing morbidity after orofacial trauma. Such assessments need to include measures of social and psychological distress, as well as physical abnormalities. This article reviews available methods of measuring morbidity and identifies areas in which new methods and developments are necessary. This quantitative approach to the assessment of trauma patients is consistent with developments in traumatology and psychology, which include injury severity scoring and the use of psychomatic tests. A scoring system for assessing orofacial deformity and disability and the attendant psychosocial distress appears to be an attainable objective.