Acute, chronic, and recurrent dislocations are currently defined as conditions in which the mandibular process becomes dislocated from its joints and requires manipulation by another person to return to its normal position. Such conditions are usually preceded by either iatrogenic factors, including fractures of the mandibular branch, or joint instability and hypermobility of its heads. This pathology requires a personalized treatment algorithm: in each case, the clinical and radiological signs of this pathology should be clearly taken into account and the method of conservative or surgical treatment should be determined. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages, and their combined use is also possible, which is the key to preventing more significant complications that can lead to allostatic replacements, joint components, or joint replacement as a whole.
The purpose of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the data of clinical examinations, conservative and surgical treatment, complications and postoperative results, taking into account the prevalence of chronic dislocations of the mandible against the background of condylar fractures.
Clinical cases of chronic dislocations of the mandible lasting from one to three months after osteosynthesis were analyzed by the authors. Attempts at manual reduction did not bring a positive result, so it was decided to treat the patients conservatively, using bite blocks made of self-hardening plastic and the use of elastic methods of fixation of the mandible, which gave a positive result already in the third week of treatment. Also, these patients were observed in the clinic for 6 months without visualization of complications of both mechanical and inflammatory nature.
The analysis of clinical case data allows us to state that the goal of treatment should be to return the condyles to their original physiological position, and conservative methods should be in the first place when creating an algorithm. Early manual reduction of the joint heads is the best method of treatment, if it is possible to carry it out in a timely manner. As the duration of the dislocation increases, the joint cavity is filled with connective tissue, cartilaginous changes occur, adhesions between the articular surfaces are formed, the masticatory muscles shorten with possible fibrosis of the temporalis muscle. We have confirmed the fact that one of the best conservative treatments is the use of an elastic chin-parietal bandage, which acts as a fulcrum to move the heads back under the anterior slope of the articular tubercle, with the simultaneous use of arches and posterior occlusal rollers. If this treatment does not bring a positive result, we use intraoral splints with a fulcrum in the area of the second molar in combination with extraoral traction to move the heads in the posterior direction with simultaneous stretching of the capsule of the temporomandibular joint and its intracapsular ligaments.
It should be noted that in each case, all the features of the pathogenesis of this disease should be taken into account and a personalized treatment algorithm should be developed, consisting of conservative methods, and, if ineffective, surgical treatment.
