Possibilities of shortening intermaxillary fixation by closed treatment of mandibular fractures

The author's own method, making it possible to shorten substantially intermaxillary fixation while preserving all its principal advantages, was used to treat 252 patients with fractures of the dentulous mandible. After two weeks' intermaxillary fixation 134 fractures of the mandibular body and angle were fixed with a combination of Sauer's and occlusal splints, lingual splints or periangular wires according to Petz. This method shortened the treatment of the selected group of patients by the mean one week.