Every so often, we hear about someone who suffers a broken jaw. Maybe from a car accident, a fall, or some other cause. But what is a broken jaw? Do they all look the same? How do oral surgeons treat a broken jaw?
A broken jaw (also known as a fractured mandible) is a common facial bone injury. In fact, it’s second only to the nose in terms of frequency. And only 9 other bones in the whole body are more commonly broken. That’s probably because, unfortunately, accidents happen – and the face is a vulnerable area.
But fractures aren’t the cause of all jaw pain. A dislocated jawbone can feel very much like a broken jaw when, in reality, it’s just moved out of joint. Temporomandibular joint dislocation (and lockjaw, or TMJ syndrome) is for another article to discuss.
What is a Broken Jaw Also Called?
We classify broken jaws by where and how they’re fractured. These are the 10 types of jaw fractures:
- Simple (closed): The fracture has not broken through the skin, either outside or inside the mouth.
- Compound (open): The jawbone is protruding from the skin.
- Comminuted: The bone is broken into small pieces or crushed.
- Greenstick: One part of the jaw is broken, and another part is bent. Either that, or one part is bent but not broken.
- Pathologic: a break that happens because of a bone disease.
- Multiple: two or more individual jawbone fractures.
- Impacted: Two sections of bone are driven together by force.
- Atrophic: the bone has atrophied, leading to a fracture.
- Indirect: the bone is fractured away from the point of impact.
- Complicated (complex): a break accompanied by some tissue and/or structural injury.
These can be combined, such as an “indirect simple fracture” of the lower jaw.
Who Suffers Broken Jawbones?
Men are more likely (actually, three times more likely) than women to break their jaw. Considering the high-impact nature of many sports, that makes sense. Among men, 20-30 year old men most often need treatment. A large percentage of patients with jawbone fractures had associated injuries to one or more of the following: head, neck, face, eyes, and nose.
———-
If you, or someone you love, has suffered a broken jaw, Implants & Oral Surgery of Chattanooga can help. As a leading facial surgery team, we’ve repaired countless broken jaws – and restored full jaw function to our patients. Just call our office or send an email to set up a free consultation.
English
Spanish