Jaw fractures diagnosed and treated at Malmö University Hospital: a comparison of three decades

The aim was to report the distribution, frequency and aetiology of jaw fractures in patients treated at the University Hospital, Malmö, 1993–2003 and to compare two previous studies from 1952–1962 and 1975–1985. In 1993–2003, 461 patients, 137 women (mean age 42 years; range 15–82) and 324 men (mean age 28 years; range 17–59) were diagnosed and treated. Women were significantly older than men (P<0.001). The most frequent cause of jaw fractures was falls in women (45%). In men, interpersonal violence (46%) was most common followed by road traffic accidents (RTAs) (24%) mostly involving bicycles (14%). The frequency of falls in women and men was significantly different (P<0.001) as was the difference between violence in men and women (P<0.001). The proportion of fractures caused by RTAs was significantly higher in 1952–1962 than in 1993–2003 (P<0.001). There was a significant increase in the proportion of fractures caused by violence between the two studies (P=0.007). In 1993–2003 the proportion of fractures in women due to falls was significantly higher than in 1952–1962 (P=0.006). Violence has replaced RTAs as the main cause for jaw fractures in men; for women falling is the commonest cause.