Satisfaction with Life in Patients with Skeletal Class III Malocclusion After Orthognathic Surgery

Abstract

Background. Good well-being is a noteworthy element of health and it also influences the overall evaluation concerning the quality of life assessed in relation to individually selected criteria. Objectives. The aim of this study was to examine whether the subjective evaluation concerning the satisfaction with life after orthognathic treatment depends on the surgical method applied for treating skeletal class III malocclusion and subjective evaluation of the result obtained after surgery. Material and Methods. Sixty-six patients treated in 2002-2013 for skeletal class III malocclusion were enrolled into the study (after bilateral saggital split osteotomy, BSSO, extraoral vertical ramuys osteotomy, EVRO, bimaxillary surgery). The questionnaire study was divided into two parts. The first one was a survey concerning patients' satisfaction with treatment results, their appearance and subjective evaluation concerning the function of the stomatognathic system following the surgery. The second was the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) questionnaire. Satisfaction with life index (SAT) was used to assess patients' answers and transformed into standardized STEN units. Results. SAT ranged from 13 to 31 points, mean value: 23.9 +/- 3.83, after BBSO: 25.3 +/- 2.73, EVRO: 23.4 +/- 4.26, bimaxillary surgery: 20.9 +/- 1.25. 95% patients would undergo the surgery for the second time. More than half of them had high stens (57%). No statistically significant differences were observed between positive and negative responses to questions and high or low STEN evaluations (p > 0.05). Conclusions. Satisfaction with life after orthognathic surgery is on average higher than the average satisfaction with life in reference to the adult population and depends on the type of conducted surgery. Patients who underwent sagittal split ramus osteotomy experienced a higher level of well-being than patients undergoing bimaxillary surgeries. The value of satisfaction with life after orthognathic surgery does not depend on the patient's subjective evaluation concerning therapeutic result