[The potentials and limits of orthodontic treatment for adults]

Assessment of the combined orthodontic-surgical treatment from the patients' point of view. A longitudinal study

In a longitudinal study, 40 patients who underwent a combined orthodontic-surgical treatment, were interviewed 4 weeks before operation and 1 week and/or half a year after surgery in order to evaluate patients' expectations and appraisal of the operation and their psycho-social situation. The comparisons between the patients' pre- and postoperative statements yielded the following picture: the patients showed a high degree of satisfaction with the result of the operation. They judged their postoperative facial appearance, with the help of a "semantic differential', to be significantly more attractive. Satisfaction also was expressed in a higher degree of psychological well-being and thus an increase in self-confidence and motivation. Postoperatively, the "Giessen test' showed also a distinctly positive change of the patients' mood and improved experiences with social interaction. Before the operation almost half of the patients feared sensitivity loss or disturbance. One out of 5 patients did in fact suffer from this problem--but not from pain--half a year after the operation. Some patients felt they had received insufficient prior information about the procedure and the risk of the operation. In spite of all burdens for the patients, the assessment of the result of the operation is (generally) positive, not only from the medical point of view.