Abstract:
It was found that the incidence of MFF had increased significantly after 1977 due to the
socio-economic changes that took place during this period in Sri Lanka. The disadvantages
of IMF were found to be difficulty in feeding and speech, general weakness of body and
loss of weight resulting in an unnecessary delay in returning to employment. A reduction in
maximal mouth opening was also detected. The study revealed that the period of IMF
required for healing of FM is related to the age of the patient and is significantly less than
what was prescribed by earlier authors. The new method of treatment of FM consisting of
one week od IMF followed by 4 weeks of arch bar fixation was found to be satisfactory with
regards to healing and also in eliminating the disadvantages of prolonged IMF while
retaining its advantages such as correction of the occlusion. Thus it was found that the
alternatives to IMF need not be the various bone plating techniques which may be too
expensive in the context of a free health service
