title: A clinical study of emergency room visits for oral and maxillofacial lacerations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated patients with oral and maxillofacial lacerations who visited the emergency room over a three-year period in an effort to determine the optimal treatment for these injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined 1,742 patients with oral and maxillofacial lacerations with 2,014 different laceration locations who visited the emergency room of Pusan National University Hospital (Busan, Korea) over three years, from January 2011 to December 2013. Patients were classified by sex, age, visit day, cause of injury, injury site, and the presence or absence of soft tissue and tooth injuries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The male to female ratio was 2.50:1. Patients under 10 years old were seen most frequently. Most emergency room visits were on weekends. Among intra-oral lacerations, the lip area was the most vulnerable site; among extra-oral lacerations, the chin area was most frequently injured. The most frequent etiology was a slip down. Most lacerations occurred without bone fracture or tooth damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Laceration may differ in large part as compared with the fracture. Therefore, it is necessary to continue collecting data on oral and maxillofacial lacerations to establish optimal emergency room diagnosis and treatment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Kun-Hyo
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Dae-Seok
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Deok
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Uk-Kyu
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Yeol
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Emergency medicine; Lacerations; Maxillofacial injuries