Clinical observation of patients brought by ambulance to a city emergency hospital for oral and maxillofacial surgery

We clinically observed patients treated between January 1999 and December 2001 at the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery after being brought by ambulance to a city emergency hospital. Of 11, 105 patients who were brought by ambulance during that period, 308 (2.8%) underwent oral or maxillofacial surgery. The male: female ratio was 2.1: 1, and more than half of the patients were younger than 30 years. There were 2 peaks in the age distribution: 2 and 21 years of age. Eighty-seven percent of the patients had traumasta such as lacerated wounds of soft tissue, alveolar bone fractures, and tooth luxation. Twenty-five of these patients (8.1%) required treatment under general anesthesia. Two patients with severe odontogenic infections underwent emergency surgery.Several of the patients who were brought to the hospital by ambulance required specialized oral and maxillofacial treatment.