1.Oral and maxillofacial injuries in children: a retrospective study
Santanu MUKHOPADHYAY ; Sauvik GALUI ; Raju BISWAS ; Subrata SAHA ; Subir SARKAR
Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 2020;46(3):183-190
Objectives:
The purpose of this retrospective epidemiological study was to determine the etiology and pattern of maxillofacial injuries in a pediatric population.
Materials and Methods:
Data for pediatric maxillofacial trauma patients aged 12 years and younger who were registered at the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, Kolkata, India, were reviewed and examined. Patients who were treated between October 2016 and September 2018 were analyzed according to age, sex, cause of injury, frequency and site of facial fractures, and soft tissue injuries. The chi-square tests were carried out for statistical analyses with a significance level of 5%.
Results:
Of 232 patients with a mean age of 6.77±3.25 years, there were 134 males (57.8%) and 98 females (42.2%). The overall male to female ratio was 1.39:1. The most common causes of injuries were falls (56.5%) and motor vehicle accidents (16.8%). Incidence of falls decreased significantly with age (P<0.001). Dentoalveolar injuries (61.6%) and soft tissue injuries (57.3%) were more common than facial fractures (42.7%). Mandibular fractures (82.8%) were the most common facial fractures, and perioral or lip injuries were the most prevalent injuries in our patient population. There was a positive association between facial fractures and soft tissue injury (P<0.01) (odds ratio 0.26; confidence interval 0.15-0.46).
Conclusion
Falls were the leading cause of maxillofacial trauma in our sample of children, and the most common site of fractures was the mandible.