Surgical-orthodontic treatment and patients' functional and psychosocial well-being

Surgical-orthodontic treatment is a common treatment approach for adult patients with skeletal maxillomandibular discrepancy. Some patients report improvement in signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) after surgery. Whether the correction of malocclusion is responsible for the improvement of TMD symptoms after orthognathic surgery is still controversial. The objectives of this prospective study were to evaluate subjective treatment outcomes in patients with bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) and to find out whether signs and symptoms of TMD and changes in occlusion are related to patient satisfaction.

Eighty-two patients (53 female, 29 male) with a mean age of 32 years (range, 16-53 years) treated with BSSO in the Oral and Maxillofacial Department at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland were examined; 64 had mandibular advancement, and 18 had mandibular setback. Occlusion and signs and symptoms of TMD were registered pre- and postoperatively. At the postoperative examination (mean, 1.8 years after BSSO), the patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire about the influence of treatment on their masticatory function and symptoms of TMD, as well as their satisfaction with the treatment outcome.

TMD symptoms were significantly reduced after treatment. Improvements were also reported in facial appearance (82%) and chewing ability (61%); also, facial (56%) and temporomandibular joint (40%) pain disappeared. However, in 12% of the patients, temporomandibular joint problems were worse after treatment. Most patients (73%) were very satisfied with the outcomes; no one expressed dissatisfaction. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that subjects with improved mastication and self-confidence, and those without long-term neurosensory deficits, expressed high satisfaction with the treatment outcome. Patients with mandibular setback were more pleased with the outcome than those with mandibular advancement.

Orthognathic patients generally experience functional and psychosocial benefits after surgical-orthodontic treatment. In addition to functional and morphological reasons, the psychosocial factors should be more emphasized when making the treatment decision and comparing the alternative treatment approaches.