Surgical-orthodontic correction of adult facial deformities.

The use of combined surgical-orthodontic therapy for the correction of skeletal anomalies has moved from the obscure to the routine over the last 25 years. Its use has been extended to treat not only developmental problems in children and adolescents, but also traumatic and temporomandibular joint-related deformities in adults. Its use can be integrated into a comprehensive treatment plan, including prosthodontics, periodontics, and implant dentistry. The advent of rigid internal fixation has made it particularly more appealing for the treatment of adult patients, allowing the patients to return to normal daily activities more rapidly.