How Similar are the Dentoskeletal Characteristics of Class III Double-Jaw Surgery Patients with Ideal Post-Treatment Profiles and Class I Subjects?

OBJECTIVE

To define the dental and skeletal characteristics of Class III surgery patients with ideal final soft-tissue profiles, and to compare them with those of Class I subjects. Also, to show how soft-tissues respond to surgical jaw movements and contribute to the outcome.

METHODS

This short-term, retrospective study was conducted using pre-treatment (T0), pre-surgery (T1), and post-treatment (T2) records of 50 double-jaw Class III surgery patients who presented with ideal cephalometric characteristics in sagittal (Holdaway and soft-tissue convexity angles) and vertical dimensions (GoGn. SN angle and upper-to-lower face harmony) at the end of treatment, and 50 control subjects.

RESULTS

At T2, the horizontal distance between the vertical reference plane (a perpendicular plane to the horizontal reference plane that is angulated 7° clockwise to the SN plane) and hard-tissue A, B and Pog points, lower lip, soft-tissue B, and pogonion points were greater, Wits appraisal was more negative, U1.PP was higher, IMPA was lower, and soft-tissue chin (Pog-Pog') was thicker in Group 1 when compared to Group 2 (p<0.05). Moreover, upper lip and subnasal (A-A') thicknesses were decreased, and chin thickness (Pog-Pog') was increased significantly (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Dentoskeletal characteristics of an ideally-treated Class III surgery patient differed from a Class I subject concerning a protrusive maxilla and soft-tissue pogonion, and incisors that were not fully-decompensated. Soft-tissues hindered the actual surgical correction to 66% and 73% in the mid- and lower-faces, respectively.