Surgery first: Which protocols for which results?

Abstract

The conventional surgical-orthodontic approach starts with a long period of preoperative orthodontic preparation considered by the majority of patients as the most difficult phase of treatment in terms of length, pain but also esthetic and functional discomfort. However, in recent decades, it was noted that the patient’s expectations increased with decreased treatment time. Performing surgery first therefore met these requirements by eliminating the preoperative orthodontic phase resulting in shorter treatments and a higher satisfaction rate for the patient’s esthetical expectations at the beginning of treatment. After introducing the protocol, indications, advantages and disadvantages of this technique, we will focus on the treatment outcomes that can be achieved by the surgical-orthodontic team: can this approach be considered as a new golden treatment standard for surgical-orthodontic treatments?