Effects of dental decompensation on the surgical treatment of mandibular prognathism.

The dental compensation presented in patients with the Class III malocclusion, or mandibular prognathism, and its importance to the surgical-orthodontic treatment, was evaluated in this study. The study involved the cephalometric examination of two groups of patients, who were considered either adequately or inadequately treated during the presurgical orthodontic phase. The results showed that dental compensation is common in both the maxillary and mandibular arches. Such compensation is more frequently eliminated from the mandibular arch during presurgical orthodontic treatment. There was some correlation between decompensation and the amount of mandibular reduction during surgery and a strong correlation between cephalometric postsurgical mandibular excess and the lower anterior facial height.