A 10-Year Retrospective Analysis of Mandibular Fracture Patterns in Blunt and Penetrating Trauma

Mandibular fractures are common facial injuries with varying patterns depending on the mechanism of trauma. A retrospective review of 570 patients presenting with acute mandibular fractures to a single level 1 trauma center, from 2013 to 2023, was performed. Demographic data, injury mechanism, fracture locations, and patterns were analyzed. The cohort was predominantly male (75.4%) with a mean age of 39.1 years. Blunt trauma accounted for 82.5% of injuries, while penetrating trauma, primarily gunshot wounds, comprised 17.5%. A total of 845 fractures were identified, with 47.9% of patients sustaining multiple fractures. Isolated fractures most commonly involved the mandibular body, angle, condyle, and ramus, whereas the most frequent combination patterns were parasymphysis + angle, body + angle, body + ramus, and parasymphysis + subcondyle. Mechanism of injury influenced fracture distribution. Blunt trauma was associated with multiple fractures and posterior involvement (condyle, subcondyle), while penetrating trauma more often resulted in isolated anterior fractures (mandibular body). These findings highlight the utility of characterizing mandibular fractures by multisite patterns rather than individual sites alone. Understanding predictable fracture patterns in relation to trauma mechanism may improve surgical planning, classification, and risk stratification for patients with mandibular injuries.