Maxillofacial injuries and fractures of the facial skeleton often require urgent surgical intervention. Since the facial bones are anatomically related to the skull, injuries in this area are of vital importance.
The maxillofacial bones (maxillofacial) extend from the mandible (lower jaw) to the skull base and encompass a variety of important anatomical structures that provide numerous daily functions.
Thus, it is common to have altered biting, visual, olfactory, gustatory and auditory function following many maxillofacial traumas. Along with these changes, the presence of asymmetry in the facial area is common.
Many hard and soft tissues can be affected in maxillofacial injuries. These injuries, which range from simple tooth fractures to serious facial or skull injuries, are treated under local anesthesia (in the dentist’s chair) or under general anesthesia (in the hospital operating room) depending on the severity of the case.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Maxillofacial Injuries
The evaluation of maxillofacial (jaw-facial) injuries should be comprehensive. Considering that only clinical examination is not sufficient in any field of dentistry, in such injuries, radiological imaging examinations such as CT (computed tomography), MRI (MRI), ultrasound examinations as well as blood tests may be required. These tests are very important for diagnosis.
During the clinical examination, the following tissues should be examined in detail.
Soft Tissues: Muscle, Nerves, Salivary glands, Eye and Oro-pharyngeal mucosa (pharynx)
Hard Tissues Maxilla (upper jaw) – Mandible (lower jaw) – Nasal (nose) Bone and Eye base
Maxillofacial Injuries usually require surgical intervention in hospital under general anesthesia (complete anesthesia). As a treatment, aesthetic sutures and tissue adhesives are generally used in varoalon injuries in soft tissues, while in hard tissues (bones), plates, wires and screws are used to bring the broken bones closer together (to restore them).
The jaws are sometimes temporarily connected with wires or mini screws. The binding of the jaws together is called closed treatment (non-surgical treatment) and is usually used for jaw joint fractures. After the treatment of Maxillofacial Injuries, special medication and nutrition regimen is applied as in other surgical interventions.
