Dal Pont Versus Epker: Which Sagittal Split Osteotomy Technique is More Stable for Mandibular Advancement? A...

The stability of mandibular advancement is critical for successful treatment. This study aimed to assess the stability of the mandible following bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) with two modifications, namely, the Epker and Dal Point techniques.

This pre-protocol prospective cohort study evaluated patients with retrognathia. Two BSSO modifications were studied: the Epker modification (group 1) and the Dal Pont modification (group 2). The primary outcome of this study was mandibular stability following advancement. The Epker and Dal Pont BSSO techniques were predictive variables. All measurements were performed before, immediately after, and 24 months after surgery.

Sixty-seven of 92 patients who underwent BSSO for the correction of retrognathia met the inclusion criteria to participate in the study. There were 33 patients in Group 1 and 34 in Group 2. The mean relapse in the sagittal plane at the B point was 0.51 ± 1.12 mm in group 1 and 0.68 ± 0.81 mm in group 2. The two groups had no significant difference in the mean amount of sagittal relapse (p = 0.21). The mean vertical relapse at B point was 0.49 ± 0.57 mm in group 1 and 0.56 ± 0.10 mm in group 2. The results showed no significant differences between the two groups (p = 0.56).

The stability of mandibular advancement using the Epker and Dal Pont techniques was the same. The amount of relapse was closely correlated with the magnitude of advancement in both techniques.