[Changes in opening mobility due to surgical advancement of the mandible]

A prospective follow-up study of 21 class-II patients, who were treated with a combination of orthodontics and orthognathic surgery, revealed typical postoperative changes in opening mobility. Their characteristics were: a strong initial loss of mobility and a regeneration period of about one year. Because the increase of mobility could not completely compensate for the initial reduction, a significantly reduced mobility was detected 25.5 months postoperatively. This reduction was considered as clinically acceptable, since former studies showed more unfavorable developments. However, individual changes of mobility are worth of notice. The comparison of condylar-related axiographic measurements with incisal measurements showed that the reduction of the length of axiographic tracings was more prominent than the "clinical-effective" reduction of the combined condylar rotation and translation.