Facial bone fractures in children.

From the aforementioned study, the following conclusions can be stated: (1) Patients ranged from 2 to 15 years of age, with no one age group being more susceptible to facial fractures. This fact is contrary to previous findings. (2) No true orbital blow-out fractures were found in patients less thn 7 years of age, primarily because of the lack of maxillary sinus development in that age group. The most rapid development of the maxillary sinus occurs between the ages of 7 to 15 years. (3) In patients from 2 to 7 years of age, fractures occurred at an even ratio of boys and girls. From 8 to 15 years of age there was a boy: girl ratio of about 4.5:1. Of the sixty-seven total patients in the study, boys outnumbered girls by a ratio fo 2.4:1. In order, the condyle, orbit, and mandible were the most common fracture sites observed in the study. This fact is in agreement with past studies. There was no predominant site for any age group or sex. While falls were singly responsible for the greatest number of facial fractures, automobile-related trauma accounted for 47.7 percent of facial fractures in children. In the majority of cases multiple mandibular fractures were of the bilateral condylar type. Hospitalization of patients with automobile-related fractures was approximately 3 days longer than that of patients whose fractures occurred from other causes. More than two thirds of the patients in the study had associated trauma-related medical and dental injuries.