J Korean Assoc Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg.  2006 Nov;28(6):565-569.

The influence of the presence and impacted state of mandibular third molars on the incidence of mandibular condyle fracture

• Oh JK
• Cha DW
• Kim CS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of the presence and impacted state of the mandibular third molars on the incidence of mandibular condyle fracture. A retrospective study was designed for patients presenting to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospial and Tae-gu Fatima Hospital for treatment of mandibular fractures from January 2003 to January 2006. The independent variables in this study were the presence, degree of impaction of third molars, and the outcome variables were the incidence of mandibular condyle fractures. Hospital charts and panoramic radiographs were used to determine and classify these variables. The demographic data included age, sex, mechanisms of injuries and number of mandibular condyle fractures. The study sample comprised 136 mandibular condyle fractures in 105 patients. Result of this study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in ipsilateral condyle fractures and mandibular third molar absence(P=0.032) and bilateral condyle fractures without another fracture and mandibular third molar absence(P=0.028).

Keyword

Condyle fracture; Mandible fracture; Impacted third molar

MeSH Terms

Incidence