Long-term stability of surgical-orthodontic open-bite correction

Area of Science:

• Orthodontics
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Dental Research

Background:

• Open bite malocclusions present complex treatment challenges.
• Surgical-orthodontic correction is a common approach for severe open bites.
• Long-term stability following this treatment is a critical concern for clinicians and patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term stability of surgical-orthodontic correction for open bites.
• To assess relapse rates and identify factors influencing stability.
• To determine the long-term success of open-bite correction in different malocclusion classes.

Main Methods:

• Cephalometric analysis of 39 patients (mean age 20.83 years) at pretreatment, posttreatment, and long-term recall (mean 8.22 years).
• Patients were categorized into Class I-II (n=23) and Class III (n=16) malocclusion subgroups.
• Statistical comparison of dentoskeletal characteristics using analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Main Results:

• Statistically significant overbite relapse occurred in the overall sample and the Class I-II subgroup.
• Clinically significant open-bite relapse (negative overbite) was observed in 35.9% of the total sample.
• Long-term stability rates were 64.11% (overall), 47.82% (Class I-II), and 87.50% (Class III).

Conclusions:

• Open-bite correction via surgery-orthodontics demonstrates a significant tendency for relapse over the long term.
• The Class III subgroup exhibited considerably higher long-term stability compared to the Class I-II subgroup.
• These findings highlight the need for careful treatment planning and potential retention strategies to maintain open-bite correction outcomes.