Cone beam computed tomography for accurate diagnosis of suspected fracture of the mandible

Abstract

The purpose of this case report is to illustrate and discuss the importance of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for accurate diagnose of mandibula fracture. A case of maxillofacial trauma was used for this report. A 17-year-old male patient was referred to Oral Diagnosis and Radiology Department with a history of maxillofacial trauma. The history of patient revealed a traumatic injury on his face because of ball stroke. The patient as initially examined in emergency department and it was diagnosed a mandible fracture in emergency department by a 2D lateral skull projection. His clinical examination was unremarkable. We had not encountered any fracture in maxillofacial region with either panoramic view or CBCT. This case report accentuates that two dimensional plain radiography techniques may be misleading for accurate diagnosis of mandible fracture.