ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the resistant force of medial pterygoid muscles against the mandibular advancement and distraction to anterior, and inquire into the relationship between medial pterygoid muscles and cephalometric variables. Sixty six patients with class III malocclusion underwent bilateral sagittal splitting of ramus with intraoralvertico-sagittal ramus osteotomy for mandibular set-back. The spring scale was used to measure the resistance of medial pterygoid muscles after splitting of ramus. Skeletaldental cephalometric analysis was made and statistic package was used for correlation between resistance and cephalometric variables. The resistant force of the right medial pterygoid muscle was greater than the left one in Koreans with class III malocclusion, and the force had a linear regression relationship with facial depth. The results suggested that facial depth has significant correlation with the resistance of medial pterygoid muscle, which can be acquired from patient's cephalometric analysis.