Laboratorial Comparative Study of the Accuracy Between Virtual Planning and Erickson's Platform.

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Dental Technology

Background:

• Orthognathic surgery planning relies on accurate movement prediction.
• Virtual surgical planning (VSP) offers a digital approach to simulate surgical outcomes.
• Evaluating the reproducibility of VSP is crucial for clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reproducibility of orthognathic surgery movements planned virtually (VSP).
• To compare measurements from VSP with those from Erickson's platform using a 3D printed surgical guide.
• To evaluate the reliability of VSP in replicating planned maxillary movements.

Main Methods:

• A laboratorial study involving eight orthognathic surgery patients.
• Virtual surgery simulations performed using Dolphin Imaging software.
• Maxilla models repositioned using 3D printed surgical guides on a semi-adjustable articulator and verified on Erickson's platform.

Main Results:

• Excellent agreement was found between VSP measurements and Erickson's platform.
• The maximum variation observed was 0.42 mm for a 6 mm movement amplitude.
• The highest mean difference was 0.07 mm near the superior right first molar.

Conclusions:

• No statistically significant difference exists between VSP and Erickson's platform for measuring maxillary movements.
• Both VSP and Erickson's platform demonstrate equal accuracy and reliability in orthognathic surgery planning.
• The findings support the clinical utility of VSP for precise surgical execution.