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Trauma surgeries involving rigid internal fixation of mandibular fractures are often supplemented with a short postoperative period of Intermaxillary Fixation (IMF) or soft diet to delay patient functioning. A finite element model of the human mandible with a parasymphyseal fracture was created and anatomically loaded to determine the effect of fracture healing on measures associated with complications. Stress and strain measures were recorded while the stiffness of the fracture was increased to mimic fracture healing. According to the results of the model, delaying normal functioning for two weeks decreases stress and strain measures up to 50%.
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Lovald et al. (2007) studied this question.
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