Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul 22;26(1):27.
doi: 10.1186/s40510-025-00572-4.

Changes in patient-reported chief complaints with orthognathic surgery: a prospective cohort study

Lennart Stadtmann #  1 , Moritz Kanemeier #  2 , Thomas Stamm  3 , Claudius Middelberg  3 , Carolien A J Bauer  4 , Johannes Kleinheinz  3 , Jonas Q Schmid  5
Affiliations

Changes in patient-reported chief complaints with orthognathic surgery: a prospective cohort study

Lennart Stadtmann et al. Prog Orthod. .

Abstract

Objective: There is a lack of studies on patient-reported outcomes in orthodontics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in patient-reported chief complaints during orthognathic surgery treatment.

Materials and methods: Patients undergoing orthognathic surgery at the University Hospital Münster between 2019 and 2023 were eligible for inclusion in this prospective cohort study. Patient-reported chief complaints were recorded on visual analogue scale (VAS) forms before treatment ([Formula: see text]), and reevaluated after presurgical orthodontic treatment ([Formula: see text]), and 6-9 months after surgery ([Formula: see text]). Chief complaints were grouped into three main categories (pain, function, aesthetics) and ten subcategories, and their intensity was quantified over time.

Results: A total of 217 out of 386 recruited patients (56%) completed all study assessments and were included in the final analysis (female/male = 126/91, median age 24.1 years). Dental function, facial aesthetics, and dental aesthetics were the most frequently reported complaints at [Formula: see text]. At [Formula: see text], there was a statistically significant improvement in dental aesthetics. There was a statistically significant reduction in the intensity of each of the 10 subcategories from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text].

Conclusion: Orthognathic surgery patients most frequently report dental function, facial aesthetics, and dental aesthetics as their chief complaints, and these complaints were improved significantly after treatment.

Clinical relevance: The improvement in patient-reported chief complaints can be used to inform patients prior to treatment.

Keywords: Aesthetics; Chief complaint; Function; Malocclusion; Orthodontics; Orthognathic surgery; Pain; Patient-reported outcome; TMD; Temporomandibular disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Commission of the Medical Faculty of the University of Münster, Germany (2019-334-f-S). Consent for publication: Informed consent was obtained from all participants in this study. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Patient-reported complaints categorised by type and region
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Spaghetti plot showing individual patient complaint intensity trajectories over time, faceted by complaint type and colored by complaint region. Semi-transparent lines represent raw individual data, while overlaid points indicate estimated marginal means (EMMs) from the mixed-effects model adjusted for age, gender, and total treatment time
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Angle EH. Classification of malocclusion. Dent Cosm. 1899;41:350–7.
    1. Alhammadi MS, Halboub E, Fayed MS, Labib A, El-Saaidi C. Global distribution of malocclusion traits: a systematic review. Dental Press J Orthod. 2018;23(6):40–14010. 10.1590/2177-6709.23.6.40.e1-10.onl. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Magalhães IB, Pereira LJ, Marques LS, Gameiro GH. The influence of malocclusion on masticatory performance: a systematic review. Angle Orthod. 2010;80(5):981–7. 10.2319/011910-33.1. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Maspero C, Prevedello C, Giannini L, Galbiati G, Farronato G. Atypical swallowing: a review. Minerva Stomatol. 2014;63(6):217–27. - PubMed
    1. Doshi UH, Bhad-Patil WA. Speech defect and orthodontics: a contemporary review. Orthodontics (Chic). 2011;12(4):340–53. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources