title: Inferior alveolar nerve injuries associated with mandibular fractures.
abstract: The study evaluates the incidence of inferior alveolar nerve injuries in mandibular fractures, the duration of their recovery, and the factors associated with them. Fifty-two patients with mandibular fractures involving the ramus, angle, and body regions were included in this study; the inferior alveolar nerve was examined for neurological deficit posttraumatically using sharp/blunt differentiation method, and during the follow-up period the progression of neural recovery was assessed. The incidence of neural injury of the inferior alveolar nerve was 42.3%, comminuted and displaced linear fractures were associated with higher incidence of inferior alveolar nerve injury and prolonged recovery time, and recovery of inferior alveolar nerve function occurred in 91%.Fractures of the mandible involving the ramus, angle, and body regions, and comminuted and displaced linear fractures are factors that increase the incidence of inferior alveolar nerve injuries. Missile injuries can be considered as another risk factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, University of Baghdad Bab-Almoadham, P.O. Box 1417, Baghdad, Iraq. salwan_bede@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Salwan Yousif Hanna
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Bede
authors.forename: Waleed Khaleel
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Ismael
authors.forename: Dhuha A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Al-Assaf
authors.forename: Saad Salem
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Omer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008340:Mandibular Nerve; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D061221:Trigeminal Nerve Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*