Purpose-The primary research hypothesis was that the magnitude and duration of the perceived burden from altered sensation reported by patients following bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) and trauma to the third division of the trigeminal nerve is lessened when facial sensory retraining exercises are performed in conjunction with standard opening exercises as compared to standard opening exercises alone.Subjects and Methods-186 subjects were enrolled in a multi-center double-blind two parallel group stratified block randomized clinical trial. Oral and facial pain, unusual sensations, numbness and loss of sensitivity, were scored from "no problem" to "serious problem" before surgery, 1,3, and 6 months after surgery.Analysis-A proportional odds model for the ordered multinomial response was used to compare the responses of the two exercise groups.Results-The two exercise groups did not differ significantly at any postsurgical time in the perceived problem level from mouth or face pain. The difference between the two groups at each visit was not statistically significant for unusual sensations although the trend was for the sensory retraining group to have a higher likelihood of reporting fewer problems. By 6 months, the likelihood of a subject reporting lower problem or interference level related to numbness or less lip sensitivity was significantly higher in the sensory-retraining group, approximately twice that of the opening exercise only group.Corresponding Author: Ceib Phillips, Professor, Department of Orthodontics, CB 7450, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, Telephone:(919)966-2763, Fax: (919)843-8864, Email: ceib_phillips@dentistry.unc.edu Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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