Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Hygiene of oral cavity of children with mandible and dental traumas during immobilizatione period

Silvia Raileanu

The study was carried out in the State Hospital for children "Em. Cotaga", in the department of oro-maxillo-facial surgery for children on the basis of 2124 medical records conducted in the period from 1993 to 1997. All the data were selected by the following criteria: diagnoses, aetiology, gender, age, and nature of facial injuries.
The sex division demonstrated a male-to-female ratio of 2.5:1. The higher rate of maxillo-facial injuries (39 per cent) was determined in the age group from 3 to 7 years old. Overall injuries of maxillo-facial soft tissues occurred most frequently (in 86 per cent of cases), associated with defects in 1.1 per cent of cases, dental-alveolar injuries - in 5.3 per cent of cases, mandible fractures - in 4.4 per cent of cases, midfacial injuries - in 3 per cent of cases. Street accidents were the most frequent cause of traumas (35 per cent).
The state of oral cavity during the immobilization of mandible fracture and dental-alveolar traumas showed better periodontal tissues and mucosal membrane of the alveolar process which were not supplementary injured in the surveyed group (65 children), where modern techniques (Edgewise system, monocortical plates) were used, as compared to the reference group (37 children) where classical techniques (Tigerstedt monomaxillar and bimaxillar splints) were used. Hygiene index in the reference group were: PMA 47 percent and OHI-S 1.7 at the end of the treatment, in comparison to the surveyed group where PMA was 14 per cent and OHI-S 0.4 at the end of the treatment, after 25-30 days.
Key words: mandible fracture, dental traumas, and immobilization.