Evaluation of Changes of Extraoral, Intraoral, and Tongue Posture After Maxillomandibular Surgery in Skeletal Class III Patients: A Retrospective Volumetric CT Study

To evaluate the extraoral volume, intraoral volume, and tongue posture in pre- and post-LF1 and B.S.S.O maxillomandibular surgery for skeletal Class III patients, and establish a correlation between them.

A retrospective study that evaluated 8 pre- and post-maxillomandibular surgical CT records of patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Borders were demarcated for volumetric measurement. The volume assessment was carried out using Materialise Mimics version 12.0 software.

The mean difference in intraoral volume was 8476 ± 6099 mm³, which was statistically highly significant. The mean difference in extraoral volume was 15005 ± 13704 mm³, which was statistically significant. The mean difference in tongue posture was 2.31 ± 0.63 mm³, which was statistically very highly significant. A strong positive correlation is between the mean differences in tongue-to-palate distance and intraoral volume. A weak negative correlation is between the mean differences in extraoral and intraoral volume and pre- and post-operative maxillomandibular surgery.

There was a significant decrease in the extraoral, intraoral volume, and tongue-to-palate distance following maxillomandibular surgery in skeletal Class III patients.