The utility of the tongue blade test for the diagnosis of mandibular fracture.

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether the tongue blade test is useful in the clinical assessment of patients with mandibular trauma. Altogether 269 papers were found using the reported search, of which two presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated.