ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was carried out to identify the occurrence, type, location, and severity of dental injuries (DIs), as well as predictors for DIs, in pediatric patients with facial fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study examined the files of patients aged 16 years or less who had sustained facial fractures during a 12-year period. The outcome variable was DI. The explanatory variables included gender, age, trauma mechanism, and type of facial fracture. Data analysis was carried out with the χ(2) test and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 200 patients, 119 (59.5%) of whom were boys, met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 12.6 years. A total of 45 patients (22.5%) had DIs. Crown fracture, the most common type of DI, occurred in 59.9% of all DIs. The most common location of crown fractures was in the premolars (37.4% of all crown fractures). Multiple DIs occurred in 71.1% of those with DIs and severe DI in 66.7%. DIs were significantly associated with motor vehicle collision (MVC) (P = .02) and mandibular fracture (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: DIs are common in pediatric patients with facial fracture, often being both multiple and severe. In association with pediatric facial fracture, facial surgeons should be especially alert for crown fractures in the lateral parts of the jaws.
Subject(s)
Facial Bones/injuries , Skull Fractures/epidemiology , Tooth Injuries/epidemiology , Accidents, Traffic/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Age Factors , Bicuspid/injuries , Bicycling/injuries , Child , Child, Preschool , Cohort Studies , Female , Finland/epidemiology , Humans , Incisor/injuries , Male , Mandibular Fractures/epidemiology , Nasal Bone/injuries , Orbital Fractures/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Sex Factors , Tooth Avulsion/epidemiology , Tooth Crown/injuries , Tooth Injuries/classification , Tooth Mobility/epidemiology , Tooth Root/injuries , Tooth, Deciduous/injuries , Violence/statistics & numerical data , Zygomatic Fractures/epidemiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To review the epidemiology of facial fractures in children and to analyze whether it has changed over time. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of records of children aged < or = 15 years diagnosed for fracture during 2 10-year periods. RESULTS: A total of 378 children were diagnosed with fractures, 187 in 1980-1989 and 191 in 1993-2002. The proportion of children with mandibular fractures decreased by 13.6 percentage-points from the first period to the second, whereas the proportion of patients with midfacial fractures increased by 18.7 percentage-points. Assault as a causative factor increased by 5.5 percentage-points, almost exclusively among children aged 13-15 years, with a high percentage (23.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Recognition of a change in fracture patterns over time is probably due to the increased use of computerized tomographic scanning.
