Göran Widmark

Open reduction of subcondylar fractures: A study of functional rehabilitation

Open reduction of dislocated subcondylar fractures was carried out in 19 adult patients between 1990 and 1992. A comparison of the results between two groups of patients was made 1 year after trauma. The reference group consisted of patients with the same type of fracture but treated with only intermaxillary fixation (IMF) and moderate jaw exercises after release of IMF. Dysfunction of the masticatory system was noticed in only a few cases of either group. Open reduction with plate osteosynthesis made it possible to avoid IMF in 12 of 19 patients. The results in the two groups did not differ significantly from a functional point of view. There are, however, specific indications for open reduction based on the degree of dislocation and concomitant subjective symptoms.

Osteoradionecrosis of the jaws

In 431 patients treated for malignant tumors 21 osteoradionecroses (ORN) were diagnosed in 19 patients. The relation of ORN to radiotherapeutic factors and surgical as well as extraction schemes were studied. There was a clear relation to high dose, high CRE and superfraction. Six ORN developed in connection with tooth extraction. The importance of atraumatic extraction is stressed.

Morbidity after chin bone harvesting--a retrospective long-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND Resorption of the alveolar bone after tooth extraction may result in insufficient bone volume for implant placement. Augmentation of the resorbed site using autogenous bone grafts harvested from the maxillofacial region, for example, the chin, is a common method; however, it also involves donor site morbidity. Chin graft morbidity involves impaired sensibility in the frontal teeth, the gingival, and skin postoperatively. MATERIALS AND METHODS A group of 60 patients with partial edentulism in the maxilla and insufficient bone volume for implant therapy were augmented with bone grafts from the mandibular symphysis. The grafting procedure was performed between 1991 and 2001 with a follow-up period of 1 year after surgery. Postoperative sensibility of the lip, teeth, and gingiva was registered. Forty-six patients (18 women and 28 men) also participated in a long-term follow-up study. The mean age was 49 years (range 23-81 years) and the mean follow-up time was 7.5 years (range 4-14 years). The donor site was evaluated in four parts: a standardized clinical examination, radiographic examination and measurements, a mail-in questionnaire, and a survey of the medical records regarding complications and graft size. In the donor site, both hard tissue (mandibular symphysis and teeth) and soft tissue (ie, lower lip, infralabial area, and chin) were evaluated. A questionnaire was also answered by 38 of 46 patients. RESULTS In the long-term follow-up, impaired tactility and sensitivity of the soft tissues were registered in 7.6%. Adjacent teeth (incisors, canines, first and second premolar) (n = 418), showed increased lamina dura in seven cases (1.7%) and four teeth had apical pathology (1.0%). The donor site (n = 45) showed good remineralization in 42 patients (93.3%), and 28 patients (62.2%) had a noticeable concavity radiologically. The questionnaires from 38 patients (answer frequency 82.3%) rated high satisfaction with the grafting and implant treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that long-term follow-up of the chin graft donor site shows some postoperative morbidity. The most frequent disturbance was impaired sensibility in the soft tissues of the chin. The lower lip and teeth showed fewer disturbances. The rate of subjective symptoms was higher than the clinical findings but did, in general, not affect the patient in daily life. At radiographic examination, bone healing after chin graft harvesting did not regenerate to the preoperative level. The donor site showed good remineralization but left a radiologic concavity in the majority of cases.

Correction of open bite by maxillary osteotomy. A comparison between bone plate and wire fixation.

A clinical and cephalometric standardized study of surgical correction of open bite deformity was performed on 19 individuals. The mode of fixation of the maxilla after surgical correction was by direct wires in 9 of the patients combined with suspension wires to the infraorbital rim and in 10 patients plate fixation. The follow-up time was 18 months and the results in both groups were clinically and cephalometrically stable in the short (2 and 6 months) and medium terms (18 months). No statistically significant difference was found between the groups regarding tendency to relapse. It was, however, concluded that the advantages of plate fixation both on clinical grounds and for patient comfort are factors in favour of using miniplates for maxillary surgical procedures.

Radiographic morphology in the temporomandibular joint after diskectomy.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the radiographic appearance in the temporomandibular joint after diskectomy in patients refractory to conservative treatment. The diskectomies were performed in patients in which the common diagnosis were internal derangement or symptoms of osteoarthrosis. Postoperative radiographs were taken in 25 patients after 1-17 yrs and compared with the preoperative from both the operated and the nonoperated joints. Moderate to severe osteoarthrotic changes were found on the operated side in all but two patients in contrast to on the nonoperated side where such changes were absent in all patients except in one who had minor to moderate changes. The radiographic examinations showed flattening of the condylar head but also irregularities and bone apposition. In almost all patients the fossa showed a sclerotic surface, flattening but only occasionally bone apposition and irregularities. Sclerotic changes were found in about 50% of the patients but erosions only rarely. Similar postsurgical changes were also seen on the articular eminence. A reduced joint space was seen in 18 patients. The postsurgical radiographic changes are the normal out come of diskectomy and do not have clinical significance even though they resemble degenerative joint disease.

One-year results of a clinical and radiological prospective multicenter study on NEOSS® dental implants.

BACKGROUND NEOSS® (Neoss Ltd., Harrogate, UK) dental implant system was introduced on the clinical arena in 2003. It is important that novel implant systems are systematically evaluated in a multicenter setting. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to follow a large number of consecutively treated patients, with NEOSS dental implant system, both clinically and radiographically. The current report constitutes the 1-year data of a planned 5-year study. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included a total of 177 patients treated with 590 NEOSS implants at 13 clinics in Sweden. The material was composed of 72 males and 105 females treated for single, partial, and total edentulism. Clinical, radiographic, and subjective evaluations were performed. RESULTS Out of 590 implants, 13 early failures have been reported, corresponding to a 1-year cumulative survival rate (CSR) of 97.8%. Evaluation of function and esthetics at the 1-year visit resulted in 100% success for function and 98% success for the esthetic outcome. The mean marginal bone loss was 0.6 mm (SD 1.1) after 1 year in clinical function. No adverse effects of the NEOSS dental implants were reported, and complications were few and similar to those reported for implant treatment in general. CONCLUSION The CSR in the present study was 97.8%. No adverse effects of the NEOSS implants were reported, and complications during the study period were few and similar to those reported to for other well-documented implants system. Based on the present data, we conclude that NEOSS dental implant is a safe and predictable implant system. However, the high number of dropouts in the radiological evaluation must be considered when interpreting the data.

Evaluation of TMJ Surgery in Cases not Responding to Conservative Treatment

The aim of the study was to evaluate the treatment outcome after temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery, which was performed in 33 patients (27 women and six men) between 1970 and 1986. Before surgery, the patients received different types of conservative treatment for an average time of 29 months. The most common diagnosis was anterior disk displacement (ADD) with or without reduction (n = 10), followed by unspecified arthralgia (n = 8), osteoarthrosis (n = 7) and ankylosis (n = 4). Standardized clinical records served as the basis for comparison of symptomatology at comparable time points. Furthermore, 31 of the 33 patients were subjected to a clinical follow-up, including anamnestic, clinical, radiological and cast analysis, 2-17 years after operation. Pain, sleeping problems and consumption of analgesics were significantly reduced after surgery. The anamnestic, as well as the clinical dysfunction indices, according to Helkimo, were also significantly reduced. TMJ clicking was reduced, but crepitations increased in number. The best improvements were seen in patients with ADD without reduction and in patients with ankylosis.