Long-term skeletal and profile stability after surgical-orthodontic treatment of Class II and Class III malocclusion

Objective: The purpose of this perspective research was to study the long-term stability of skeletal, dentoalveolar and soft tissue after orthognathic surgery in subjects presenting with Class II and Class III malocclusions. Methods: The available digitized cephalometric radiographs, including pretreatment (t(0)), presurgery (t(1)), a minimum of 12 months postsurgery (t(2)) and at least 3 years after the orthosurgery treatment (t(3)) were taken between 1998 and 2010. In Group I mandibular advancement and in Group 2 mandibular advancement and maxillary impaction surgery were performed for correction of Class II. In Group 3 maxillary advancement and in Group 4 surgical maxillary advancement with mandibular setback, for correction of Class III. Results: In all the phases mandibular length was shorter in Group 1, and the inferior third of the face was longer in Group 2. Before the surgery there was greater maxillary deficiency in Group 3 than Group 4 and mandibular length was longer in Group 4. Conclusion: In Groups 1 and 2, at retention phase, relapse occurred due to the increase in mandibular plane, whereas the surgeries performed in Groups 3 and 4 remained stable. (c) 2012 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.