Clinical profile and Pattern of Mandibular Fractures

BACKGROUND: Mandibular fractures are a major component of maxillofacial trauma due to the prominent anatomical position in facial skeleton. Their prevalence, etiology, and injury patterns vary across age groups and are influenced by environmental and geographical factors. This study aims to analyze clinical, demographic profile and pattern of mandibular fractures presenting over a period of 5 years in a tertiary institute. METHODS: An observational retrospective study was conducted over a 5-year period from hospital record of National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal. Data of all reported mandibular fracture cases were collected and analyzed based on age, gender, mechanism of injury, fracture site, and monthly variation. RESULTS: A total of 839 mandibular fractures were recorded among 395 patients, with 331 males and 64 females. The most affected age group was 21-30 years (41.8%), while the least affected was 0-10 years (1.0%). Road traffic accidents were the leading cause (60.5%), followed by falls (24.5%), interpersonal violence (13.6%) and sports injuries (1.0%). Road traffic accidents were most common in young adults, whereas falls were more frequent at the extremes of age. Combination fractures involving multiple mandibular sites were more common (33.7 %) than single-site fractures. Among single-site fractures, Parasymphysis (25.1%) was most frequently involved, followed by condyle (13.4 %) and angle (11%). A higher incidence of cases was observed in December followed by July, and August. There was significant association between age group and etiology (p=0.001) and age group and fracture site (p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Road Traffic Accident are the leading cause of mandibular fracture in young adults with multiple site combination mandibular fracture being the commonest.