title: A retrospective study of oral and maxillofacial injuries in Seremban Hospital, Malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aetiology of oral and maxillofacial injuries in this country includes motorvehicle accident (MVA), fall, industrial accidents and others. Among these causes, MVA accident is the predominant cause of injury in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective record review was carried out using hospital records of all patients who sustained oral and maxillofacial injury at the Department of Oral Surgery, Seremban Hospital, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia between 1998 and 2002. Information related to demographics, aetiology of trauma, vehicles involved in collision, location of injuries and treatment modalities were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two thousand nine hundred and eighty-six patients sustained oral and maxillofacial injuries. Of these patients, 79.2% were men and the remaining were women. Among all the races, Malays had the highest involvement (50.6%) followed by Indians (24.5%), Chinese (19.6%) and others (5.3%). There were statistically significant results on the association of aetiology and the ethnic groups, in the age group of 30 years or less and male gender (P < 0.001). The most common injury was the soft-tissue injury followed by dental and dentoalveolar injuries and bony fracture. Among all facial fractures, 66.3% were managed conservatively, 13% were treated surgically and 19.7% did not have any intervention. In relation to dental and dentoalveolar injuries, 64.8% had treatment in the form of splinting, restorations or dental extraction. The rest of the patients (35.2%) were referred to their dentists or did not have any active treatment at Seremban Hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the dental and facial injuries in Seremban Hospital were caused by MVA and were predominantly managed using conservative methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. r2tdh2004@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Roszalina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramli
authors.forename: Normastura Abdul
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Roslan Abdul
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Haizal Mohd
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hussaini
authors.forename: Abdul Latif Abdul
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hamid
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D007223:Infant; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000293:injuries*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D013165:Splints / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult