JAW FRACTURE AND WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW

JAW FRACTURE AND WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW

What is a mandibular fracture?

Mandible, the lower jaw bone is the strongest bone in the face. It is the only mobile bony segment in the entire human head. It consists of numerous muscle attachments, nerves and blood vessels passing through. Even being the strongest bone it tends to fracture by some of the other external forces like an assault, a road traffic accident, a fall, sports, and some both pathology, etc. etc. fracture of the jaw is one of the most common facial injuries seen in road traffic accidents and sports.

COMPLICATIONS CAUSED:

·       Pain and swelling

·       Bleeding due injury of the soft tissues.

·       Difficulty in breathing due to loss of support to the tongue, the tongue may fall backward.

·       Difficulty in eating, chewing, normal biting and clenching pattern of teeth.

·       Numbness due to nerve injury.

·       Infections

CHIEF AREAS OF JAW FRACTURE

How do you know if you have a fractured jaw?

Pain and swelling on the affected side is the first and foremost sign to suspect a jaw fracture. Other than these there will be difficulty in normal chewing or biting pattern, unable to open and close mouth, deviation of jaw towards one side, rigidness. Loose or maybe broken tooth, lumpy or abnormal appearance of the face, loss of sensation in lower lip region (injury to the nerve), Pain radiating to ear.

Jaw fractures are always best evaluated at hospitals. Proper diagnosis and management of the fracture are important so as to prevent any future complications. Well-established craniofacial centers do total justice to treat facial trauma. As normal hospitals won’t have specialized facilities such as panoramic radiography or cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) etc. In fact, CBCT gives a 3D image of the fracture for diagnosis and treatment planning.

How do you treat a mandibular fracture?

Jaw fractures always need immediate attention. And the treatment planning depends upon how bad the fracture is, surrounding structures associated with the fracture.

MINOR FRACTURE usually does not involve any kind of complications it can be treated with a course of antibiotics and painkillers and soft diets

MODERATE TO SEVERE FRACTURE requires emergency care. It involves a complete proper examination to rule out fracture line, no. of fractures, any injury to nerves or muscles, depending upon which the treatment is planned.

It involves wiring (stainless steel wires) the teeth to hold on the fractured segments together and placing off plates and screws to fix the fractures for around 6-8 weeks. During this period patients will be on liquid diets and medications. A proper care can gear up faster healing.

How long does it take for a mandibular fracture to heal?

As explained above a major fracture in the jaw, if treated with proper care will heal in 6-8 weeks approximately

Can a mandibular fracture heal on its own?

A minor jaw fracture will heal off its own. A soft diet and medication is all you need to take care of. But if the fracture is minor, moderate or severe can be ruled by a doctor only. Hence it is necessary to get evaluated by a doctor immediately.

CASES TREATED RECENTLY AT RICHARDSON’S

We at Richardson’s have handled umpteen no. of cases of jaw fracture with 100% successful treatment. As we have all the advanced machinery for diagnosing and treating such patients, Management is quite easy. 

Before & After

Before & After

Before & After

Before & After