Introduction

• Cause: motor-vehicle trauma, fall from a height, animal bite, hit by an object.
• Signs: pain, difficulty opening or closing the mouth, crepitation.
• Diagnosis: history of trauma; clinical signs; diagnostic imaging showing fracture of bones that form the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or associated structures (ie zygomatic arch, coronoid process, etc).
• Treatment: conservative treatment (monitoring); non-rigid maxillomandibular fixation (tape muzzle, labial reverse sutures, or commissuroplasty); retrieval of fracture fragments; condylectomy.
• Prognosis: greatly depending on the location and extent of TMJ fracture and presence/absence of ankylosis and pseudoankylosis.

Pathogenesis

Etiology

• Motor-vehicle trauma, fall from a height, animal bite, hit by an object.

Diagnosis

Treatment

Outcomes