Maxillary Posterior Impaction with Mandibular Setback
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Orthognathic surgery has been used for many years to move the jaws into a more harmonious relationship. The first techniques that were developed for elective jaw realignment actually emanated from the treatment of trauma patients and every day fractures of the facial skeleton. Astute surgeons discovered that if a patient presented with certain kinds of jaw fractures, they could reset and improve the relationships of the patient’s jaws over their pre-traumatic presentation. Methods for elective realignment of the mandible (lower jaw) were actually the first to develop and soon became a staple of treatment. To that end, repeatable techniques were developed to either increase or decrease relative jaw size. After many years of development and additional refinement, today the surgical realignment of both jaws (upper and lower) are considered predictable, safe and in many ways routine. The experienced orthognathic surgeon can place the jaws in virtually any three dimensional relationship that is required to establish proper function and good facial balance. These videos demonstrate some of the techniques that have become a part of the surgeon’s armamentarium and have now evolved into their own art form.