Palate Fracture Repair With Light-Cured Resin Splint: Technical Note

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Trauma Surgery
• Dental Materials Science

Background:

• Palate fractures are rare, with treatment debated, often involving rigid plate fixation or non-surgical methods.
• Traditional splint fabrication for palate fractures is time-consuming and requires impressions and models.
• Prolonged intermaxillary fixation (IMF) after palate repair can lead to temporomandibular joint stiffness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel, simplified technique for fabricating palate splints using rapid light-cured resin.
• To assess the efficacy and outcomes of this technique in patients with palate fractures.
• To determine if this method can reduce the duration of intermaxillary fixation and improve patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A series of 13 patients with palate fractures were treated over 5 years using a rapid light-cured resin (TRIAD TranSheet) for splint fabrication.
• This technique bypasses the need for traditional impressions, models, and molded splints.
• The splint was used alone or in conjunction with rigid fixation for specific fracture types.

Main Results:

• The average duration of intermaxillary fixation (IMF) was 4.7 weeks (range 3-6 weeks).
• The average duration of palate splint use was 8.4 weeks (range 5-12 weeks).
• One patient experienced malocclusion; however, no cases of malunion, infection, or oronasal fistula were reported.

Conclusions:

• The rapid light-cured resin splint technique is a simple, cost-effective, and successful method for managing palate fractures.
• This technique can be used independently or combined with rigid fixation.
• It offers the advantage of potentially shortening the required duration of maxillomandibular fixation.