Prognosis of permanent teeth in the line of mandibular fractures.

A total of 45 mandibular fracture patients with 54 teeth in the fracture line were evaluated retrospectively. One tooth in the fracture line was lost in the accident, 6 were extracted later and 47 could be saved (87%). At the follow-up examination 38% of the teeth were diagnosed to have pulp necrosis, which was found more frequently in the older patients and in cases in which the time elapsing between the injury and the follow-up was longer. Pulp necrosis was also more frequent in cases in which the fracture line ran through the apex or dislocation of the fracture parts existed after the injury.