Orthognathic surgery is of much importance in treating patients, and the role of orthodontics is of much prominence in dental care. Orthodontics is a treatment performed on a professional basis.
Orthodontists do play a major role in orthognathic surgery (OS) cases. Their role can indeed be divided into several phases: the initial evaluation, pre-surgical orthodontics, surgical planning, and postsurgical orthodontics. The role of orthodontics needs much medical attention.
Role of orthognathic surgery
Orthognathic surgery can indeed eliminate severe esthetic and functional deformities and be a life-changing event for a patient. An orthodontist’s role in orthognathic surgery can be divided into several phases: the initial evaluation, pre-surgical orthodontics, surgical planning, and also post-surgical orthodontics. In each of these phases, collaboration between the orthodontist as well as the surgeon is critical. The ability of an orthodontist as well as a surgeon to coordinate their efforts during this time is what will lead to a successful outcome.
For nearly a century, orthodontists have tried to mainly focus on occlusion as the primary objective of orthodontic therapy. The introduction of the soft tissue paradigm has led to a shift in treatment planning from hard tissue to soft tissue and reinforced the key role of facial esthetics in orthodontic diagnosis as well as treatment planning. Whereas occlusion happens to be rooted in measurable definitions of Class I as well as other “keys to occlusion”, esthetics is considered to be more subjective, based not only on the orthodontist’s assessment but in fact also on personal cum cultural preferences rather than rigid norms.
The focus has to be on the fact that orthognathic surgery potentially does narrow the gap between esthetics as well as function, even though surgery may have its own limitations. Evaluation and treatment planning do focus on facial as well as smile esthetics, as well as the treatment approaches that combine orthodontics, orthognathic surgery, as well as appropriate adjunct procedures to enhance the overall esthetic outcome.
Moderate-to-severe occlusal discrepancies as well as dentofacial deformities in adolescents and adults usually require combined orthodontic treatment and orthognathic surgery in order to obtain optimal results. It is important to ascertain methods for diagnosing dental, dentoalveolar, and skeletal factors that are required to be addressed orthodontically in planning for orthognathic surgery. These factors may indeed require specific orthodontic approaches in preparation for surgery.
The orthodontic method aims at positioning the teeth over the basal bone, avoiding excessive intrusion, extrusion, tipping, expansion, and torquing, avoiding unstable orthodontic mechanics, and providing stable and predictable orthodontic preparation. Surgical alteration of the occlusal plane may indeed be indicated for optimal functional-aesthetic outcomes and can also affect the pre-surgical orthodontic setup. Postsurgical orthodontics is indeed equally important to finalize the dentofacial and occlusal relationships. Aggressive orthodontic mechanics can be required to maximize the occlusal fit. The protocols do include helping the clinician provide appropriate pre- as well as post-surgical orthodontics. Coordination of the orthodontics with the specific orthognathic surgery is indeed important for high-quality outcomes.
Thorough planning as well as execution happen to be the keys to successful treatment of dentofacial deformities, rather than surgical orthodontics. Pre-surgical planning (paper surgery as well as model surgery) is indeed one of the most essential prerequisites of orthognathic surgery, and an orthodontist is considered to be a person who carries out this procedure by evaluating diagnostic aids like crucial clinical findings as well as radiographic assessments.
Yet, the literature pertaining to step-by-step orthognathic surgical guidelines is rather limited.
Skeletal complexities are indeed rectified by performing “paper surgery,” and an occlusion is set up during “model surgery” for the fabrication of surgical bite wafers. Furthermore, orthodontics is rather carried out for the proper settling and finishing of occlusion. The focus is on skeletal deformity individuals being treated with an orthognathic surgical approach, and the nuances of orthodontic-orthognathic step-by-step procedures from “treatment plans” to “execution” for successful management of the aforementioned dentofacial deformity cannot be sidetracked.
Conclusion
Orthognathic surgery happens to be a unique endeavor in facial surgery. The role of orthodontics cannot be negated.