Abstract :
Introduction: Mandible is the largest and strongest facial bone, by virtue of its position on the face and its prominence, it is commonly fractured when maxillofacial trauma has been sustained. The main disadvantage of conventional bone plate/screw systems is that the plate must be perfectly adapted to the underlying bone to prevent alterations in the alignment of the segments and changes in the occlusal relationship during screw tightening.
Introduction of 2.0 mm locking plate/screw plating systems for the treatment of mandibular fractures works on the principle of restricted backout and function as internal fixators, achieving stability by locking the screw to the plate with unique advantage of obviating the need of intimate contact of the plate with the underlying bone. So the study was planned with an aim for comparative evaluation of use of 2.0-mm stainless steel locking miniplates with Champy`s miniplates in mandibular fractures in terms of stability, postoperative healing & associated complications.
Materials and Methods: This cross sectional prospective interventional analytical study was carried out in Department of Dentistry at Raipur Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur over a period of 10 months from September 2016 to July 2017. A total of 60 patients were enrolled in two study groups of 30 each. Detailed clinical, laboratory and radiological examination was followed by standard operative procedures described by the various authorities using two different Miniplates. The results were documented in Microsoft Excel and statistical analysis was done using Epi-info.
Results: Both the study groups were having 30 patients each. 26 males and 4 females in group I whereas 28 males and 2 females in group II. A total of 54/60 patients were male and 6 females.Road traffic accident was the most common cause of mandibular fractures in 37/60 (61.66%). Parasymphysis was the most common site of fracture (40%).There is no significant difference in working time, post-operative infections but significant difference is observed in terms of post-operative occlusion, mobility of fractured segments, pain at various point of time measured on visual analogue scale when tested with various tests of significance
Conclusion: The use of 2.0mm locking plate system with its advantages of improved handling characteristics, increased stability, less occlusive discrepancy, low infection rate, less mobility, less painappear to be an effective and reliable alternative to Champy`s miniplates in mandibular fractures.
Keyword :
Locking plate system, Working time, Postoperative occlusion, Post-operative mobility.