Mandibular osteotomies

Abstract

Orthognathic surgery involves segmental movements of the tooth-bearing maxilla and/or mandible for the correction of skeletal deformities. This chapter focuses on the various osteotomy techniques available for mandibular repositioning. As for any surgery, the pathway towards an optimal outcome in orthognathic surgery involves precise diagnosis and planning. This requires careful clinical history-taking and examination, dental/orthodontic consultation, standard photography and cephalometric analysis, an appraisal of patient expectations, and conventional laboratory or computer-assisted model surgery and splint fabrication. These preliminary steps are covered in depth elsewhere in this text.