Body fractures would not normally cause hypoplasia unless they got infected at that time. The growth centre is at the condyle, so as long as the condyle is alright there would not be hypoplasia, however, there is no way to rule out a minor trauma to the condyle in childhood in your patient, is there?

No there is no evidence that mandibular body fractures influence on the growth of the

mandible since the growth center is in the condyle.

I agree with the views that there is no direct relation of mandibular body # to subsequent hypoplasia but there is a possibility in your case to miss a condylar injury in view of assault by a dog or if there was avulsive injuries with loss of osseous matrix.

I use to make a lot of surgeries in young children in a public hospital here. I don't have anything scientific, but in 18 years seen this kind of fracture I don't remember any case of mandibular hipolasia after mandibular body fractures. Using Titanium or Resorbable plates.

I have similar Observations in young children whom  i treat and prefer to use resorbable plates only.

Whereas I agree with the senior surgeons here I think, purely theoretically, that if the condyle remains intact but the soft tissues are somehow badly disrupted by the assault then the apposition/resorption related growth could be impaired (it is linked to the muscle tensile forces which, if absent or disrupted by scars, could lessen the growth) which would not lead to a strict jaw deviation (i.e. differences in ramus height) but to a local hypoplasia.

Also if there are teeth missing the pars alveolaris could perhaps be less developed?

These are just theoretical hypotheses which I however don't think are impossible but are not supported by literature.

I quote this review which you may agree with:

"Craniofacial bone growth is a complex process that remains poorly understood even after decades of research. In addition, even less is known regarding the effects of trauma on this process. ... Fractures to the developing body and ramus of the mandible are less likely to cause growth disturbance. ... [however] they cannot be easily predicted based on fracture type alone."

-Goth et al. J Craniofacial Surg 2012

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22337373

What do you think? Too fat-fetched?

Mandibular body and angle fractures especially due to dogbite may have had an element of bone loss, which may have presented like a hypoplasia later.

excessive scar tissue formation is the most probable cause, if the case of additional bony trauma is excluded. 

dear sir,

it was documented that trauma to the growth centers subsequently sometimes lead to different degrees of growth affection starting from slowing to complete secession. in case of mandible the trauma to condylar growth center is almost always indirect meaning that one end of the bone receive the trauma and the other end affected. the maximum force transmitted to the growth center of the condyle occurs after anterior part of the mandible[symphyseal trauma] even if no fracture resulted. the body and angle have less transmitted force to the condyle but when the direction of trauma was at the inferior border great force will be transmitted to the condyle and affection resulted[your case] beside growth cession the case may undergo ankylosis later on due to joint haematoma.

Atef Fouda,

Prof Oral&Maxillofacial Surgery,

Cairo University,

Egypt.    

Thank you all for your answers. I didn't even expected to see so many points of view. Best regards