Abstract
Objectives: To study the incidence and pattern of mandible fractures in the holy city of Madinah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over a retrospective period of three years from 2013 (1434H) - 2016 (1436H) and to compare the results with those from other regions of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Materials and Method: Relevant data of patients admitted in the King Fahad Hospital, Madinah with fracture of the Mandible during the study period was collected from their medical records and radiographs. The age, gender, etiology, role of the patient, site and number of fractures in the patients were evaluated. The data was analysed by standard statistical methods. Results: One hundred ninety seven patients with fracture of the mandible were admitted in the period of the study by the Oral Maxillofacial surgery department, King Fahad Hospital, Madinah. There were 165 male and 32 female patients. The ages ranged from 3 to 86 years with a mean of 24years. A total of 260 fractures of Mandible were documented. The largest number (113) of patients was found in the age group between 16 - 30 years. Trauma caused by motor vehicle road traffic accidents was the main etiology of the fractures followed by falls and assault. Majority of the patients were in the role of vehicle drivers. The condylar anatomical site of mandible was most frequently affected and constituted the largest number (103) of fractures followed by the angle (51), parasymphysis (45) and then by the body (23) of the mandible. Dentoalveolar fractures were present in 22 cases. Very less number of coronoid fractures (7), followed by those of the ramus (5) and least number at the symphysis (4) of the mandible were found. Conclusion: Road traffic accident was the most common etiology for trauma and fracture of the Mandible. The males outnumbered the female patients, the largest number of patients with trauma and mandible fracture was found in the age group between 16 - 30 years and frequency of condylar fractures was higher.