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Abstract Mandibular fractures are common and normally require surgical treatment. The ideal method for treating these fractures is rigid or stable internal fixation by means of plates or miniplates (1) Early techniques used to immobilize Mandibular fractures included bandage immobilization and intermaxillary fixation. Fixation of the maxilla to the mandible was first used in 1992 (2) Occasionally when there has been an excessive delay in treating a fractured mandible, interpositional tissue between the two bone ends can prevent a satisfactory closed reduction. (In this situation an open reduction is necessary to remove the soft tissue between the fragments). Nonunion is distinguished from delayed union by the potential of the bone to heal. Delayed union is a temporary condition in which adequate reduction and immobilization eventually produces bony union. On the other hand, nonunion may persist indefinitely without evidence of bone healing unless surgical treatment is undertaken to repair the fracture. Nonunion is generally characterized by pain and abnormal mobility following treatment. Malocclusion may be present in dentate cases and mobility exists across the fracture line. Radiographs demonstrate no evidence of healing and in later stages show rounding off of the bone ends. Delayed and nonunion occur in about 3% of fractures (3) Wound healing occurs in three distinct but overlapping phase. |