[Epidemiology of lower jaw fracture in patients treated at the Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery of the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina].
BACKGROUND
The position and prominence are the reasons why the lower jaw is one of the most commonly injured facial bones.


METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted to analyze medical records of patients who had been treated at the Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery in the period from January 1st, 1998 to December 31st, 2012. These data included patients' age and gender, mechanism of injury, anatomic localization of the fracture, associated injuries and treatment of fractures.


RESULTS
Out of 630 treated patients, 531 were men (84.3%) and 99 were women (15.7%). The highest incidence of the lower jaw fractures was found in the age group 21-30 years (36.2%) and the lowest in the age group over 70 years (1.1%). The most common causes, of injuries were physical assault (47.3%), followed by traffic accidents (24.3%) and falls (20.8%). Most patients referred to our Department were treated non-surgically 436 (69.2%), 165 of them (26.2%) were treated surgically, whereas in 29 patients (4.6%) none of the above treatments was performed.


CONCLUSIONS
This study has shown that fractures of the lower jaw are mainly found in men aged 21-30 years. The obtained statistical data could certainly be used to establish the health system that would allow better prevention of these injuries, and the possibility of an adequate and effective treatment modality.
Klinicki centar Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Klinika za maksilofacijalnu i oralnu hirurgiju. benalda@eunet.rs
Benjamin
B
Nalić
Ivana
I
Mijatov
Sasa
S
Mijatov
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055771:Serbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult