Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate condylar positional changes in patients with facial asymmetry undergoing orthodontic treatment and orthognathic surgery by comparing the affected side (the side toward which the chin deviates) and the non-affected side (the contralateral side) across different treatment stages.Materials and Methods: A retrospective cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis was conducted on 25 patients with facial asymmetry (menton deviation >4 mm) treated at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.CBCT scans were obtained at 4 timepoints: pre-treatment (T1), post-orthodontic dental decompensation (T2), post-surgery (T3), and post-treatment (T4).Linear measurements of anterior joint space (AJS), superior joint space (SJS), posterior joint space (PJS), and the condylar angle were assessed.Results: At baseline (T1), no significant differences were observed in linear measurements between the affected and non-affected sides; however, the condylar angle was significantly smaller on the affected side (69.6 vs. 76.5,P<0.05).Following surgery (T2-T3), AJS increased significantly on both sides (P<0.05),whereas SJS and PJS changes varied by side.From T3 to T4, significant differences between the affected and non-affected sides emerged in SJS (P<0.05),PJS (P<0.05), and condylar angle (P<0.05),suggesting differential remodeling during postsurgical orthodontic finishing.Overall, orthodontic decompensation alone (T1-T2) did not significantly influence condylar position.Conclusion: Pre-surgical orthodontic treatment did not significantly affect condylar position, whereas orthognathic surgery induced measurable positional and angular changes.Post-surgical orthodontic finishing revealed divergent remodeling patterns between affected and non-affected condyles.Further studies with larger samples and long-term follow-up are necessary to clarify the clinical implications of these changes.(Imaging Sci Dent 20250285)
Bae et al. (Thu,) studied this question.