Biomechanical comparison of different plating techniques in repair of mandibular angle fractures

Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical behaviors of different miniplate fixation techniques for treatment of fractures of the mandibular angle. Study design. Twenty sheep hemimandibles were used to evaluate 4 different plating techniques. The groups were fixated with Champy technique, biplanar plate placement, monoplanar plate placement, and 3-dimensional (3D) curved angle strut plate. A custom-made 3-point biomechanical test model was used for the samples. Each group was tested with compression forces by an Instron Lloyd LRX machine. The biomechanical behavior of the groups for the forces (N) that caused displacement of 1.75 mm were compared using the Instron software program and displacement graphics. Results. The variance analyses showed that biplanar plate placement had more favorable biomechanical behavior than Champy technique and monoplanar plate placement (P < .05). In addition, the 3D curved angle strut plate technique had more favorable biomechanical behavior than the Champy technique (P < .05) but was not significantly different from biplanar or monoplanar plate placement techniques (P > .05). Conclusion. The study demonstrated that 3D strut plates or dual miniplate techniques had greater resistance to compression loads than the Champy technique. In addition, biplanar plate orientation may provide a more favorable biomechanical behavior than monoplanar plate placement.