title: [Long-term follow-up study of titanium implant impact on pediatric mandibular growth and development].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the impact of titanium implant on the growth and development of pediatric mandible after suffering from mandibular fracture and undergoing open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) compared with those that underwent titanium plate removal postoperatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen pediatric patients with mandibular fracture who underwent ORIF were included in this study. Eight patients did not undergo titanium implant removal postoperatively, whereas the other seven patients underwent the routine. The postoperative data of the pediatrics were collected for comparative analysis by taking the patients' frontal and lateral photos, recording the inter-incisor distance, and measuring the height of mandibular ramus, length of the mandibular body, and combined length of the mandible in three-dimensional reconstruction image.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients had acceptable facial contour, mouth opening, and occlusion, without obvious abnormalities. The radiography showed no significant difference between the bilateral mandibular lengths in the two groups of patients (P>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The titanium plants have no significant impact on the growth and development of pediatric mandible postoperatively; hence, the question on whether the titanium plates should be removed or not may be neglected. The removal operation may lead to secondary trauma; thus, performing titanium plate removal routinely is not recommended.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Fumin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001860:Bone Plates; D015921:Dental Implants; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D008334:Mandible; D008337:Mandibular Fractures; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D013997:Time Factors; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants; D014025:Titanium