ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the mandibular dental arch from presurgical orthodontic treatment and orthognathic surgery, and to evaluate the relationships between the pretreatment records and changes of mandibular dental arch in skeletal Class III malocclusion individuals. METHODS: Lateral cephalometric radiographs and mandibular study models of 31 adults with skeletal class III malocclusion were taken and measured. All measurements were evaluated statistically by ANOVA, Scheffe's Post Hoc, and paired t-test, and correlation coefficients were evaluated. RESULTS: No significant difference in Mn-LMMC, Mn-LIE, Mn-MnOcc was detected between pretreatment and presurgical groups. Statistically significant but low correlations were demonstrated between the initial arch length discrepancy (ALD) and change in ICW, IPW1 (r = 0.492, 0.615) and change in arch length (r = 0.641). No association was seen between the initial depth of curve of Spee and change in mandibular incisor angle and arch width or arch length. Regression analysis showed that the amount of change for arch length and IPW1 could be explained by 64.0% and 75.8% of the pretreatment variables respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that orthognathic surgery results can be predictable by measuring the pretreatment records.