Three-dimensional treatment planning for maxillary and mandibular segmental surgery for an adult Class III: Where old meets new

Abstract

Class III open bite malocclusion can be among the most difficult case types to obtain an excellent occlusal, skeletal, and facial outcome. Treatment options include growth modification, extraction for orthodontic camouflage, and orthognathic surgery. For the most severely affected and non-growing patients, orthognathic surgery is often the most predictable and, in some situations, the only viable way of achieving an optimal result. The risks and benefits of surgical treatment options can occasionally be difficult to assess particularly for providers with limited experience. Two-dimensional surgical predictions can assist but do not permit the third dimension to be visualized. New techniques of computer-aided surgical simulation can enable the surgeon, orthodontist, and patient to better visualize and understand the treatment approach and enable them to make the most effective and efficient treatment related decisions. This case merges knowledge of the full spectrum of historical surgical techniques with the new approach of computer-aided surgical simulation (CASS) to perform complex segmental maxillary and mandibular surgery to obtain an excellent functional and esthetic result.