Association between oro-facial soft tissue injuries and oral and maxilla-facial fractures

Introduction
Almost all hard tissue injuries in oral and maxillofacial region are associated with some type of soft tissue injuries; however, the relationship between different types of oro-facial soft tissue injuries and various maxillo­facial bone fractures is not well-established. Aim of the study was to assess the association between soft tissue injuries and underlying hard tissue injuries in the oral and maxillofacial region.

Material and methods
This was a prospective study among patients with oral and maxillofacial soft tissue injuries treated at Muhimbili National Hospital. Variables examined included age, sex, etiology of injury, location of soft tissue injury, and type of maxillofacial fracture sustained. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 23. Logistic regression was applied to analyze the relationship between the type of soft tissue injuries and the associated underlying hard tissue injuries.

Results
The study included 160 patients, who had sustained soft tissue injuries to the oro-facial region. Non-ending sub-conjunctival ecchymosis was the soft tissue injury that was strongly associated with zygomatico-maxillary fractures (OR: 5.8; 95% CI: 1.85-18.16), and hematoma of the floor of the mouth was positively associated with parasymphyseal fractures of the mandible (OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 1.16-19.42). Laceration to the forehead is most suggestive of an underlying fracture of the frontal bone, while contusion/laceration on the palate predicts Le-Fort I or II fractures.

Conclusions
The findings of this study concluded that certain types of oro-facial soft tissue injuries can aid in the diagnosis of specific underlying maxillofacial bone fractures.