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Updated: May 6, 2026
A Postoperative Evaluation Guideline for Computer-Assisted Reconstruction of the Mandible
Published on: January 28, 2020
A novel method to determine the potential rotational axis of the mandible during virtual three-dimensional
Jiewen Dai1, Yuefu Dong, Pengfei Xin
1From the *Department of Oral & Cranio-maxillofacial Science, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai; †Department of Orthopaedics, the First People's Hospital of Lian Yun Gang, Lianyungang; and ‡National Die & Mould CAD Engineering Research Center, Shanghai JiaoTong University; and §Department of Oral & Cranio-maxillofacial Science, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
During virtual three-dimensional orthognathic surgery in cases where an overlap or penetrability occurs between the 2 jaws due to the repositioning of the maxillary segment, it is necessary to establish a vertical opening of the mandible to obtain a relatively good relationship with the maxillary segment for the fabrication of an intermediate occlusal splint. However, there are few reports that address the precise definition of the rotational axis of the mandible during virtual surgery. Here, we present the idea that the mandible's movement during virtual three-dimensional orthognathic surgery is similar to hinge movement in vivo and developed a method for locating the geometric center of the three-dimensional condyle using Hypermesh software combined with Mimics software. Subsequently, we defined the rotational axis of the mandible based on the located geometric centers of the bilateral condyles, and the mandible was then rotated around the defined axis from the retruded contact position to mimic the hinge movement. Preliminary results indicated that the presented method could approximately mimic the hinge movement of the mandible with a relatively high accuracy in a three-dimensional environment, which may improve the accuracy of virtual intermediate occlusal splint.
