A broken jaw describes an injury to the upper or lower jaw bone with destruction of the bone structure. Therefore, these jaw fractures are considered fractures and account for about half of all fractures in the head region. However, the lower jaw is affected far more frequently than the upper jaw. Modern conservative methods and surgical techniques allow low-risk regeneration of the fracture, so that a normal load on the jaws can be restored relatively quickly.
Causes for a broken jaw
Probably the most common cause of a broken jaw is an excessive mechanical force from outside, which the jaw cannot withstand and gives way. Injuries to the lower jaw are more likely to be caused by falls on the head or the impact of a blow, while fractures of the upper jaw are caused by blunt mechanical force. Due to its anatomy, the upper jaw is much more fragile and porous than the lower jaw and tends to break more easily.
Fractures of the upper jaw often occur in car accidents and in cases of great violence. Another cause for a fracture of the jaw can be a sports injury, an accident at work or a riding accident. Bullet wounds can also cause a broken jaw.
Furthermore, the removal of displaced wisdom teeth can cause so much bone loss that a wrong bite of solid food can cause a fracture at this point. A jaw cyst, if left untreated, can also lead to a broken jaw. Click here for the main article: Jaw cystDuring a wisdom tooth surgery the displaced teeth often have to be milled out of the bone.
In this case there is always a certain amount of bone loss, also because the tooth takes up a relatively large amount of space within the bone and the bone forms around it. If this is removed, the main thing at the site is a hole in which blood collects, which slowly restructures into bone cells. If the site is loaded too early by chewing hard food, the jaw can break at this point because the bone layer is much thinner here and the bone is weakened by the pulling. This phenomenon can also occur when canines are removed, since the long roots also take up a lot of bone thickness.
