Association between third molar and mandibular angle fracture in panoramic radiographs

Abstract

Background and objective: Mandibular fractures comprise between 40–65% of all facial fractures and angle fracturs are involved in 25 to 33% of such fractures. Studies showed that the presence of an impacted third molar( unerupted or partially erupted) may increase the risk of mandibular angle fracture. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the position and presence of mandibular third molars and mandibular angle fractures. Methods: The study sample was composed of 160 mandibular fractures. Data was collected from patients with mandibular fractures who reported to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Emam Reza Tabriz hospital. Patients’ data such as age, gender and mode of injury was obtained from medical records. If a mandibular third molar was present, the Pell and Gregory classification was used to determine its anatomic position. Data was analyzed using SPSS17 software.The chi-square test was be used to compare the relationship between angle fracture and third molar. Independent t-test was used to compare fracture and its relationship with quantitative variables. The significance level in all tests will be considered less than 5%. Findings: The prevalence of mandibular third molar among patients with mandibular angle fracture was 66.2%. The results show that in patients with mandibular angle fracture and mandibular third molar, the frequency of type A impaction surface was 63.2%, type B was 20.8% and type C was 16%. Also, in these patients, the frequency of the anterior-posterior position of class I is 39.6%, class II is 46.2%, and class III is 14.2%, and the frequency of vertical angulation is 46.2%, mesiangular angulation is 44.3%, and horizontal angulation is 9.4%. Conclusion: The presence of the mandibular third molar has an effect on the mandibular fracture patterns, and in the presence of the mandibular third molar, the risk of mandibular angle fracture increases. Also, the eruption status and the position of the third molar of the mandible affect the risk of mandibular angle fracture.