Impact of Orthognathic Correction of Class II Malocclusion on the Perception of Social Characteristics

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the influence on the perception of social characteristics after orthognathic treatment for the correction of Class II malocclusion. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 240 observers who evaluated images of individuals before and after orthognathic surgery for the correction of malocclusion. Based on the images, two different questionnaires were applied containing 44 questions each for evaluating social competence, intellectual ability, psychological adjustment, and attractiveness. The mean scores for evaluations of the images were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test at 5% level of significance (α=0.05).Results: Orthognathic treatment significantly (p<0.05) improved the evaluation of individuals in the requisites of the score attributed to the image (p=0.008), extroversion (p=0.026), happiness (p=0.006), self-confidence (p=0.046), and attractiveness (p=0.015). Conclusion:Orthognathic treatment for the correction of Class II malocclusions has a positive effect on the perception of social characteristics of individuals. The individuals subjected to orthognathic surgery were evaluated as being more attractive, intelligent, socially competent, and psychologically adjusted.

Evaluation of the influence of malocclusion in interpersonal relations among adolescents

“…In this study, the adolescents answered preferred to maintain an intentional conversation with CG and people with Class II malocclusion (Figure 5), probably because they find this malocclusion more attractive than the others. In the study by Pithon et al [24] they stated that individuals with Class II malocclusion are more sociable after undergoing orthognathic surgery. This work demonstrated that both to flirt and to maintain a lasting relationship the adolescents preferred those who presented Class II malocclusion, being the most attractive, when compared to the other malocclusions analysed (Figures 6 and 7).…”