Background/Aim :Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) are the different forms of acoustic mechanical waves that might promote bone healing by stimulating bone growth in long or other bones .the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of adjuvant LIPUS and ESWT in healing of patients with fresh mandibular fractures.
Subjects and Methods: this study was a randomized controlled clinical trial , twenty one patients (12 males, 9 females) aged from 20 to 40 years with fresh mandibular fractures treated with closed reduction and maxillary mandibular fixation (MMF) were prospectively enrolled into this study with ethical approval and informed consent .Those patients were randomly assigned in three treatment groups ,each of seven patients . Group I received a single treatment with 4000 impulses of focused ESWT, group II received 18 sessions of LIPUS for 20 min while group III received neither represented the control group . Clinical assessment together with radiographic follow-up using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) at 1.5 and 3 months were done for all patients postoperatively.
Results: there was statistically significant difference in bone density between three groups in different times after six weeks and after three months as bone density higher in group I (ESWT) than in groups II,III
Conclusions: Focused ESWT appeared to be more effective than LIPUS or nothing as an adjuvant treatment of adults with fresh mandibular fractures.