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Although the epidemiology of facial injuries has been studied in many populations, there is a paucity of information in the literature in this relation in the Middle East including Iran. The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiology and mode of treatment of facial injuries in western Iran.We examined all patients with a maxillofacial injury who presented to the outpatient department or who were hospitalized in the Besat Hospital of Hamedan City, Iran, between 20 December 2007 and 20 December 2009.Of 2,450 patients (77% male, 23% female) with a facial injury, 90% sustained soft tissue injuries and 37% had bone fractures. Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) were the most common cause of injuries (35%). The most frequent bone fracture occurred in the nasal bone (63.4%). The incidence of associated injuries was 8.3% (mostly orthopedic). Rigid internal fixation was the main treatment of facial fractures. Malpositioned zygomas and functional and aesthetic problems after reconstruction of nasal-orbital-ethmoid injuries were the most common postoperative complications.Although in many countries the rate of facial injuries due to traffic accidents is decreasing, MVA is still the major cause of facial trauma in Iran. This may be due to the lack of enforcement of traffic laws by police and insufficient compliance of the population in obeying traffic rules. Rigid internal fixation was the most common mode of treatment of facial fractures, and in spite of the severity of facial injuries, the rate of postoperative complications was relatively low.

Purpose To evaluate and compare the short-term skeletal and dental changes following surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) with or without pterygomaxillary disjunction (PTMD) using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Material and methods In present study, a total of 15 consecutive patients with transverse maxillary deficiency underwent SARME without PTMD. This prospective group was compared to one arm of a randomized controlled clinical trial the authors of present study published in 2014, in which 15 patients underwent SARME with PTMD. The age range of patients, inclusion and exclusion criteria, surgical procedure (except PTMD), operating surgeon, the appliance and protocol of expansion, and the method of outcomes evaluation were the same in both prospective (−PTMD) and historical control (+PTMD) groups. Before treatment and immediately after consolidation period, CBCT was obtained and the nasal floor width, interdental root distance, palatal bone width and interdental cusp distance were measured at first premolar and first molar regions of maxilla. Results In both −PTMD and +PTMD groups, the greatest expansion occurred at the dental arch, followed by palatal bone and nasal floor level (V-shaped expansion in the coronal plane), and the amount of expansion achieved at the first premolar and molar areas was comparable (uniform widening of maxilla posteroanteriorly). There was no statistically significant difference in the amount and pattern of maxillary expansion between two groups. Conclusion Because of favorable surgical outcomes and decreased risk of possible perioperative complications, SARME without PTMD was recommended for the treatment of transverse maxillary deficiencies.