EFFECTS OF HYPESTHESIA ON ORAL BEHAVIORS OF THE ORTHOGNATHIC SURGERY PATIENT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare orthognathic surgery patients with and without significant hypesthesia with respect to per ceived problems with specific oral behaviors. Patients and Methods: Da ta from 116 patients 6 months after bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) and mandibular advancement were analyzed. Tactile sensation in the right and left mental nerve areas was determined using monofilame nts and brush strokes (von Frey hairs). The right infraorbital region was used as a control. A difference of 450 mg of force between the con trol and test sites was considered significant hypesthesia. Patients r ated their level of subjective problems with swallowing liquids or sol ids, smiling, spitting, kissing, speaking, eating, and drooling on a s cale from 1 (none to mild) to 7 (extreme). A value of 5 or greater was considered significant impairment. Results: Hypesthesia was shown in 23 patients (19.8%) with the monofilaments and in 29 patients (25.0%) using brush stroke direction. In each of these two groups, a significa nt correlation was observed between hypesthesia and difficulty in chew ing and kissing. No correlation was observed between any of the remain ing seven oral behaviors and hypesthesia. Conclusion: These findings s uggest that only certain oral behaviors are affected by hypesthesia of the mental nerve.