Psychosocial and functional outcomes of orthognathic surgery: Comparison with untreated controls

ObjectivesOrthognathic surgery is a procedure for patients with dentofacial deformities and provides dramatical dentofacial and psychological alterations. The aim of this controlled study was to evaluate how orthognathic surgery affects patients’ psychosocial well-being and compare them with patients having dentofacial discrepancies and with individuals who do not have any skeletal discrepancies.MethodsHundred and sixty-three adult individuals were included in this study as three groups: patients who underwent orthognathic surgery, patients having skeletal discrepancies and individuals who do not have any skeletal discrepancies. Patients in all groups were asked to fill out two questionnaires concerning the psychological and physical status of the patients at that moment and additional questions were asked to patients in post-surgical phase regarding post-surgical satisfaction. Categorical variables were statistically evaluated by Fisher Exact and chi-square tests.ResultsPatients who were going to seek orthognathic surgery were significantly concerned about their dentofacial appearance, body image and psychosocial status when compared with patients in the post-surgical phase and the individuals who did not have skeletal discrepancies. The results of the patients who underwent orthognathic surgery were approximated to the results of non-patient control group and had high degrees of satisfaction with improvement in appearance brought about by surgery at 6-month post-operatively.ConclusionFollowing orthognathic surgery, patients had better psychosocial status when compared to patients without skeletal deformities. Patients in the pre-surgical phase were not only functionally but also psychosocially the least satisfied group of individuals.