Epidemiology of Oral and Maxillofacial Traumatic Injuries Among the Patients Reporting to the Dental Institute of Western Maharashtra Region, India.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the distribution, etiology, and patterns of oral and maxillofacial trauma among the subjects reporting to a dental institute in the Western Maharashtra region of India.

METHODS

This retrospective study was conducted by manually collecting data from the medical records of subjects who reported to the dental institute with a history of trauma from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2022. All the injured subjects with complete clinical and radiographical records of maxillofacial injuries were included. The demographic data, etiology & site of trauma, and associated injuries were analyzed. Data were tabulated into four age groups (< 20 years, 21-40 years, 41-60 years, and > 60 years). Five etiological factors, i.e. road traffic accidents (RTA), stumble & falls, violence, animal attack, and strike by an object, were further evaluated based on age and gender. Maxillofacial injuries were classified into seven types: maxillary fractures (subcategorized), mandibular fractures (subcategorized), zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fractures, nasal, frontal, orbital, and naso-orbito-ethmoidal fractures. Data were tabulated and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 437 subjects were included, consisting of 84.2% males and 15.8% females, with the highest incidence of trauma between 21-40 years. Road traffic accident was the main reason for maxillofacial injuries (50.3%), followed by falls (26.5%), and violence (19.9%). ZMC fractures accounted for 55.4% (242 fractures), followed by mandibular fractures (42.3%).

CONCLUSION

RTA is the main factor responsible for maxillofacial injuries in this part of Maharashtra among subjects of both genders. Education and motivation regarding road safety measures are the two factors that need to be focused on to reduce the incidence of maxillofacial injuries.