ABSTRACT
Background: Facial trauma has reached a peak in the last decades in the world; however, scanty epidemiological information is available in Chile. Aim: To report the experience in the treatment of mandibular fractures in the maxillofacial unit at Hospital del Trabajador, Santiago. Patients and methods: A retrospective study of patients with mandibular fractures treated in a seven years period (1990-1996). Demographic and clinical aspects of the patients are analyzed, with emphasis in causes of trauma, anatomic distribution of the fractures, treatment and complications. Results: One hundred and sixty patients (aged 14 to 65 years old) sustained 245 mandibular fractures. Road traffic accidents were the most common cause of fractures (46 percent). The most common mandibular fracture was subcondylar. Thirty eight patients (24 percent) presented with associated facial fractures, while 34 (21 percent) had also other non-facial fractures. Open reduction and internal fixation was performed in 88 subjects. Complications occurred in 60 patients (38 percent). Conclusions: Road traffic accidents are the main cause of mandibular fractures in this series of patients. The most common mandibular fracture is subcondylar, which can be linked to the high rate of occlusal complications observed