Correlation of Soft and Hard Tissue Deviation in the Middle and Lower Face of Patients With Mandibular Deformity.

OBJECTIVE

Compared with patients without facial deviation, patients with jaw deviation deformity often present ocular plane deviation and inconsistent asymmetric deformity severity between soft and hard tissues. These conditions bring greater uncertainty to diagnostic analysis and increase the difficulty in determining the final jaw position for orthognathic surgery. This study aimed to explore the correlation between soft and hard tissues in the middle and lower facial regions of patients with mandibular deviation, as well as its variation trend with the severity of mandibular deviation, so as to further clarify the morphologic characteristics of mandibular deviation in facial asymmetry patients and provide a reference for the precise formulation of clinical diagnosis and treatment protocols.

METHODS

A total of 30 participants were included and divided into 2 groups: 15 patients with isolated mandibular deviation (group 1) and 15 patients with bimaxillary deviation (group 2). The Asymmetry Index (AI) was applied to compare the soft- and hard-tissue deviation between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

There were significant differences in the degree of deviation between facial soft and hard tissues (P<0.05). A significant correlation was observed between the deviation severity of the mid- and lower-facial soft and hard tissues in patients with facial asymmetry (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The soft tissue masking effect is more prominent in patients with bimaxillary deviation. Patients with bimaxillary deviation are accompanied by ocular plane deviation and carry a potential risk of condylar deviation, which requires close clinical attention.