Urban-rural differences in oral and maxillofacial trauma

The aim of this research was to assess oral and maxillofacial trauma in urban and rural populations of the same region. The data collected included age, gender, year and month of trauma occurrence, origin (rural and urban), cause of injury, and the type of oral and maxillofacial trauma. Records from 1121 patients with 790 instances of oral and maxillofacial trauma were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 software and involved descriptive statistics and Pearson's chi-squared test. Male patients were more prone to maxillofacial trauma (n = 537; 68%), and the patients were mostly from urban areas (n = 534; 67.6%). The male-to-female ratio was found to be 2.12:1 (urban zone, 1.72:1; rural zone, 3.49:1). The average age was 25.7 years (SD = 14.1). A traffic accident was the most common cause of oral and maxillofacial trauma (27%). The jaw (18%) was the most commonly fractured bone in the facial skeleton, followed by the zygoma (12.9%). Avulsion (8.5%) was the most common dental trauma. A significant statistical relationship was found between place of origin and gender (p < 0.001). Accidents involving animals were more frequent in rural areas (P < 0.001). Zygomatic fractures (p < 0.001), contusion (p = 0.003), and abrasion (p = 0.051) were the most common injuries among individuals from rural areas. Nasal fracture (p = 0.011) was the most frequent type of trauma in individuals from urban areas. According to these data, it seems reasonable to assume that specific preventive public policy for urban and rural areas must respect the differences of each region.