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. An antiseptic mouthwash. 0.2% cblorhexidine was routinely issued for 7 days.
Minivac drains were also used for the first 24h when indicated. Post-operatively, patients were examined on a regular basis for up to 12 months.
Result
Ninety percent of mandibular fractures occurred in men. The peak incidence was in the 20-30 year age group with ages ranging from 16 to 83 years (Fig.l). Assault accounted for 72.5% of the injuries while motor vehicle accidents were responsible for 7.5 %, the remainder being due to sports, industrial accidents, epileptic fits, spontaneous fracture and following exodontia (Table l). Fifty-eight percent of patients admitted to consuming alcohol within a short time of being injured. Based on the classification used by the Royal College of Psychiatdstsl8, 44% of patients were classed as alcohol abusers with 11 patients diagnosed as alcoholic, 10 of whom were also vagrant. Seventy-seven percent of the patients were smokers and 7.5 % were intravenous during users. Thirty-six percent of patients were unemployed and there was a preponderance of non-professionals amongst the 46 % employed. The remaining 18 % were composed of students, old age pensioners and those on sickness benefits. A comparison of social characteristics of the study group with that of the general population indicated marked differences (Table 2). As the study group was predominantly (90%), only the statistics for adult males in the state of New South Wale were used for comparison. Twenty-five percent of patients had medical conditions of significance which included heart disease, respiratory disease, chirrosis of the liver, epilepsy and anaemia.
Two patients were classed as infectious, one being HIV-positive and the other hepatitis C carrier.
Table 1. Classification according to etiology
Etiology No. patients(%)
Assault 58(72.5)
MVA* 6(7.5)
Sports 5(6)
Fall 4(6)
Industrial 3(4)
Epileptic fit 2(2.5)
Spontaneous 1(1.25)
Iatrogenic 1(1.25)
Total 80
Table 2 Social characteristics of the study group compared to the male population of the state of NSW
Study group (90% make) Adult males (NSW)*
Alcohol abusers(%) 44 3.6
Tobacco smokers(%) 77 33
IV drug user(%) 7.5 2
Unemployed(%) 36 8.7

Fig.1 Ae distribution

Fig.2 Distribution of the125 fractures according to site
There were a total of 125 fractures, with the angle being the most common site (Fig.2). This is consistent with other studies which have shown that assault tends to result in more angle and body fractures, whilst motor vehicle accidents cause more condylar and symphyseal fractures. The majority of fractures occurred on the left side, which would correspond, to most assailants being right-handed. Ninety-four percent of the injuries were non-complex having only one or 2 fractures of the mandible and only a few cases being comminuted.
A total of 12.5% had additional facial fractures involving the nose, zygomatic complex or the maxilla. Nine patients had associated injuries of significance, which included fractured hips, legs, hands, skull and vertebrae. It was these patients that required longer periods of hospitilisation. Sixty-seven percent of cases were plated within 4 days of the injury; however, a small proportion was treated after a considerable delay (Fig. 3). This was due to either the late presentation of the patient