A broken jaw is a highly painful condition that requires immediate medical care. You can get a broken jaw due to various reasons like being hit on the jaw or during an accident. Mild fractures of the jaw can heal by themselves but severe fractures may need surgery. It is imperative to follow a liquid diet during a broken jaw with or without surgery, whether it is a minor fracture or a severe one.
What Causes a Broken Jaw?
A broken jaw can occur if you get hit on the lower jawbone (mandible) or the upper jawbone (maxilla) with a force hard enough to break a bone. Data indicates that jawbone fractures are the second most common kind of facial fracture; the commons being nasal factures. Lower jawbone fractures occur frequently when the face gets hit during an accident. The ,andible or lower jawbone can break in more than one places during a facial fracture. The locations/s can be between the condyle (upper part of lower jaw) and the angle of the jaw (that is curving up and towards the ears).In any case, a broken jaw is an medical emergency requiring immediate attention and treatment.
Broken Jaw Symptoms
The first and foremost symptom of a broken jaw is that it is highly painful and hurts a lot. The affected person finds it difficult to open or close the jaw. It becomes impossible to open the jaw wide open with a broken jaw. Apart from this, there are also other symptoms of a broken jaw, including:
- Bleeding from nose or mouth.
- A bruised cheek or jaw.
- Chipped and loose teeth in the upper or lower jaws. Moreover, the teeth in both the jaws do not match or align on closing the mouth.
- Difficulty in breathing.
- Difficulty and pain while talking or chewing.
- Difficulty in closing and opening the mouth.
- Pain in the ears.
- Numbness in the face, particularly in the lower lip.
There are prominent symptoms like bruising, swelling or lump in the cheek or the jaw.
Major Reasons Why Someone Gets a Broken Jaw
A person getting a forceful blow or getting by a hard object on the face can get a broken jaw. Broken jaw often occurs during incidents of interpersonal violence or being hit by a hard object or another person. The second important reason for a broken jaw can be vehicle accidents. Workplace accidents and sports injuries are other reasons for a broken jaw.
Irrespective of the reason for a broken jaw, it needs immediate care and treatment. In the first place, a broken jaw affects one’s ability to breathe, speak, and eat. Furthermore, in the lack of medical attention, the broken jaw may not heal well or heal in a way that impacts how it looks or functions.
Broken Jaw Diagnosis and Treatment
A healthcare provider will gently examine the broken jaw. They will also ask you for the reason for the jaw related injury. Also, they will order an X-ray and CT scan to check for any other broken facial bones or internal bleeding.
Types of Broken Jaw Injuries
Two types of broken jaws can occur based on the part of the jaw that gets fractured. These are
- Mandibular fractures involving fractures of the lower jaw.
- Maxillary fractures involving fractures of the upper jaw.
Here is a brief description of various types of mandibular and maxillary broken jaws. Mandibular or lower jaw fractures include the following types.
Angle fractures: When a fracture occurs on the side of the mandible on angle joining the vertical and horizontal axis, it is an angular fracture. These fractures are the consequence of direct blow on the side of the face.
Body fractures: These involve a horizontal fracture in the body of the mandible, either on the left or the right side. Such fractures generally occur due to falls or motor vehicle accidents.
Condylar fracture: Condyle is the part of the mandible that articulates to the temporal bone of the skull (near the ear). These are also known as temporomandibular fractures. Fractures in the condyle affect jaw movement. Furthermore, these need careful management for abiding complications.
Coronoid Fractures: This involves the fracture of the coronoid process, which is a projection on the lower jaw bone providing for the attachment of muscles. This fracture is generally accompanied by other kinds of fractures.
Ramus Fracture: Ramus is the vertical portion of the mandible. These fractures occur due to trauma or blow on the side of the face. However, they are less common.
Symphyseal fracture: Symphysis is the point where the left and right halves of the lower jaw meet. When the midline of the lower jaw suffers a fracture, it’s known as a symphyseal fracture. This kind of a fracture often occurs due to direct blow on the chin.
Maxillary Fractures
Fractures in different parts of the upper jaw are known as maxillary fractures. There are different types of maxillary fractures based on the region affected.
Le Fort I fractures: This involves a horizontal fracture above upper teeth.
Le Fort II fractures: This is a pyramid shaped fracture spanning across the nasal bridge and upper teeth.
Le Fort III: This is a transverse fracture that separates the facial skeleton features lie orbit, nose and cheeks from the skull.
Nasoethmoidal Fractures: Fractures in the complex nasal bridge and ethmoid areas comprise nasoethmoidal fractures. These generally accompany other kinds of maxillary fractures.
Zygomatic Fracture: This involves fracture of zygoma or cheekbone due to traumas, anywhere on the zygomatic arch, zygomaticofrontal suture or orbital floor. This kind of a fracture affects the midface stability.
Treatment of a Broken Jaw Fracture
Broken jaw treatment involves supportive care, medical intervention including surgical care where needed.
First Aid: If you suspect or are confirmed about a broken jaw, you should immediately approach for medical assistance in an emergency care.
While you get expert intervention, there is something on how to fix a broken jaw. Make sure you give some first aid to the patient for lowering pain and preventing further damage. Hold the jaw with a bandage or a cloth for reducing movement and minimising further injury. Also, applying ice packs can lower the pain and swelling.
Medical Examination: This involves evaluation of the damage caused due to the injury by an expert medical professional. A thorough examination may also involve X ray or CT scans. The doctor can categorize the broken jaw as a minor fracture or a severe fracture.
In the case of minor fracture, the doctor will recommend a liquid diet for four to six weeks till natural healing occurs.
In the case of severe fracture, your provider may do a surgical intervention to put bars or metal plates in the area of fracture.This helps the bone to heal normally and naturally in course of time. They may also incorporate elastics or wires to allow healing.
Broken Jaw Recovery Tips
It is important to get the treatment for a broken jaw from an experienced and expert medical provider. This is because an ineffective course of treatment leads to side effects such as hardware failure involving breaking of plates, screws and wires.
Recovery of the broken jaw can take weeks, even without surgery. During this time, you should go on a liquid diet, taking food through a straw. You would need a dental rinse as you cannot brush your teeth. In case of non-surgical treatment, your provider may allow soft-only food.
Placing ice packs on the jaw can help reduce swelling. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can also help in pain alleviation
You will need a wire cutter if your jaw is wired closed in case you need to vomit or spit out.
While yawning or sneezing, place your hand or fist under the chin.
You will need post surgical follow up for full recovery through complex situations faced in broken jaw healing. Physical therapy may be necessary in the course of rehabilitation. There are exercises to restore jaw strength, functionality and movement. Such activities involve massage, mild jaw motion or stretches. Long term follow up is needed to ensure bite alignment and normal tooth function.
Takeaway
Though a broken jaw is a painful and daunting condition, you can recover fully from it. All you need is timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and complete follow up. This will help you get back to your normal self with your usual savory and crunchy meals in your mouth and ability to speak in the way you do. It is nevertheless important to follow the advice and guidance of your medical provider at this time.
