Gs. Throckmorton et E. Ellis, The relationship between surgical changes in dentofacial morphology and changes in maximum bite force, J ORAL MAX, 59(6), 2001, pp. 620-627
Purpose: This study determined whether patients with greater surgical chang
es, and presumably greater normalization of their skeletal morphology, show
ed greater increases in their maximum voluntary bite forces after orthognat
hic surgery.
Patients and Methods: A total of 104 adult patients (32 males and 72 female
s) treated with 1 of 8 different orthognathic surgical procedures were exam
ined. Patients' presurgical and postsurgical morphologic and biomechanical
measurements were taken from lateral cephalograms. Measurements known to be
related to maximum bite force were used in the analysis. Patients' presurg
ical and postsurgical maximum bite forces were measured at 8 tooth position
s (ie, right and left incisors, canines, premolars and molars).
Results: Presurgical and postsurgical morphology and biomechanics variables
were strongly correlated with each other, suggesting that orthognathic sur
gery produced relatively little change in patients' overall craniofacial fo
rm. Maximum voluntary bite forces were primarily correlated with variables
relating to jaw size- both before and after surgery. No correlations were n
oted between the increases in maximum voluntary bite forces and surgically
produced changes in skeletal morphology and the biomechanics variables.
Conclusions: Factors other than surgically produced changes in skeletal mor
phology are responsible for increases in maximum voluntary bite force after
orthognathic surgery. (C) 2001 American Association of Oral and Maxillofac
ial Surgeons.