title: A study of sports-related mandibular angle fracture: relation to the position of the third molars.
abstract: Mandibular angle fractures have been considered attributable to the presence of unerupted third molars. We examined the relationship between the incidence of sports-related mandibular angle fractures and the presence of a mandibular third molar with emphasis on the position of the third molar. The incidence of angle fracture was significantly higher in the sports-related injury group than in the group with fracture due to other causes (P < 0.05). The incidence of angle fracture in the athletes with higher impaction scores was significantly higher than that in the subjects with higher scores who did not have sports-related fractures (P < 0.05). The percentage of rugby athletes with third molars was significantly higher than that of those without third molars (P < 0.001), and a high proportion of young athletes (89.5%) was considered to belong to a potential high-risk group for angle fractures. Our findings suggest that mandibular angle fractures are influenced by the presence and characteristics of the third molar in sports-related injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sawaki
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tohnai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueda
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D016139:Martial Arts / Q000293:injuries; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012865:Skiing / Q000293:injuries; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014097:Tooth, Unerupted / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging