Soft and hard tissue changes in skeletal Class III patients treated with double-jaw orthognathic surgery-maxillary advancement and mandibular setback

The soft tissues of the facial profile may change after skeletal movement in orthognathic surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the differences and correlation between hard and soft tissues after double-jaw surgery in skeletal Class III subjects. Radiographs from the following time points were assessed using Dolphin Imaging software: preoperative (T0), 2-4 months postoperative (T1), and 6-12 months postoperative (T2). Eleven hard and soft tissue points of the facial profile were evaluated. The Student's t-test was used to assess the significance of differences between the time intervals; Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the significance of correlation existing between these points; significance was set at P < 0.05. In the sample of 58 subjects, the correlation between hard and soft tissues in the mandible was greater than in the maxilla. Similarly, the correlations only between hard tissues and only between soft tissues presented a greater correlation in the mandible. The results are similar to those found in studies on single-jaw surgery for both the maxilla and the mandible. The influence of movements in hard tissues was restricted to the soft tissues of the same jaw, although there were exceptions.