Prevalence and risk factors of tooth discolouration after orthognathic surgery: a retrospective study of 1455 patients

This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of tooth discolouration and to examine the factors that may pose a higher risk for tooth discolouration after orthognathic surgery. This was a retrospective study of 1455 orthognathic surgeries. The following data were collected for analysis: presence of discoloured teeth, sex, age at operation, the extent of the surgical displacement of the maxilla, and whether patients had undergone genioplasty, zygomaplasty, or descending palatine artery (DPA) ligation. Out of 1339 patients who underwent double-jaw surgery, 49 received root canal treatment due to tooth discolouration. No tooth discolouration was found in the 116 patients undergoing single-jaw surgery. DPA ligation, genioplasty, and mandibular sub-apical osteotomy were associated with a significant risk of tooth discolouration. Patients should be informed preoperatively of the possibility of tooth discolouration. Additionally, the DPA should be preserved during Le Fort I osteotomy to reduce the risk of tooth discolouration.