Abstract

The dislocation of the mandibular condyle / condyles occurs most commonly in an anterior direction due to trauma. This is a known fact as due to pull of lateral pterygoid muscle. On the contrary, posterior, superior, or lateral dislocations of the intact mandibular condyle occur rarely, and very few such cases have been reported in the English language literature. The rarity of these dislocations can be attributed to the varying anatomy of the condyle, the direction of pull of muscles attached to the condyle and low incidence of skull base fractures from an indirect blow. A case of bilateral supero-lateral dislocation of the condyle associated with a symphyseal fracture is presented. We discuss the dynamics, diagnostic features and clinical management of such dislocations with extensive review of literature.

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