Fig. 4
Horizontal branch fractures. a Unfavourable fracture. Picture showing a fracture with a downward and posterior direction. The bone fragments are misaligned by the action of the masseter muscle (black arrow) that pulls the distal bone fragment upwards, and the mylohyoid (asterisk), geniohyoid (white arrow), and anterior belly of digastric (black arrowhead) muscles that pull the mesial bone fragment downwards. b Favourable fracture. Picture showing a fracture with a downward and anterior direction. The bone fragments impact each other with no displacement. c, d Cropped panoramic radiographs in toothless patients with unfavourable (arrow) and favourable (arrowhead) horizontal branch fractures