Biomechanical evaluation of plating techniques for fixing mandibular angle fractures: the introduction of a new 3D plate approach

Purpose

The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the use of a three-dimensional (3D) square-shaped plate for the treatment of mandibular angle fractures.

Materials and methods

Synthetic mandible replicas were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the 3D square plate along with three other mandibular angle plating techniques. The plating techniques consisted of: (1) a 3D miniplate (2?×?2 holes, square, 2 mm); (2) a 3D miniplate (6?×?2 holes, curved, 2 mm); (3) two miniplates (four holes, straight, 2 mm and 1.6 mm); and (4) one single miniplate (four holes, straight, 2 mm). Each group was subjected to incisal and homolateral molar region loading by a tensile materials testing machine (Monsanto Tensometer 20). Load stiffness values and peak measurements of the fracture gap distraction at the superior aspect of the mandible were measured. The mean values (±standard deviation) were derived and compared using one-way analysis of variance, with statistical significance set at p?Results For homolateral molar loading, statistically significant differences existed within groups (p?Conclusion Under the conditions tested, the 3D square plate system provided the most favorable mechanical behavior.