Preoperative incisor inclination in patients with Class III dentofacial deformities treated with orthognathic surgery

Our aim was to evaluate cephalometrically the preoperative inclination of the incisors in a group of 50 patients with Class HI dentofacial deformities whose immediate preoperative lateral cephalometric radiographs were analysed after they had been treated by maxillary advancement. The radiographs were hand-traced by the same operator who made the cephalometric analysis. Mean values for each measurement were compared with the normal values using Student's t-test (p < 0.05). Results showed significantly increased inclination of the upper incisors, with a mean UI-NA angle of 27.58 degrees and a mean UI-PP angle of 116 degrees. The lower incisors were also inclined lingually, with a mean LI-NB angle of 22.53 degrees and a mean IMPA of 83.13 degrees. Thirty-five of the patients had labial inclination of the upper, and 28 lingual inclination of the lower, incisors. Mean inclinations of upper and lower incisors differed from the normal values, and the inclination of the lower incisors was more likely to be decompensated than that of the upper incisors. (c) 2011 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.