Angle and ramus, complex

Commonly the alveolar process and the teeth are involved in comminuted fractures. Often, fragments containing teeth have to be removed as they have no mucosal connection.

Comminution often results in nonviable bone fragments and thus in a bone defect of variable size.

Routine diagnosis of this type of fracture should include x-rays taken in two planes at 90° to each other; the minimum requirement is a PA view and a panoramic view.
CT or digital volume tomography (DVT) imaging may be extremely useful in cases of comminuted fractures.

Example of a comminuted angle fracture.

X-rays show a basal triangle fracture.