Is a Final Splint Necessary in Bimaxillary Orthognathic Surgery?

For bimaxillary orthognathic surgery, a splint is commonly used to achieve the final occlusion and is then maintained through initial skeletal healing. The purpose of this study is to document how often a final splint is used to achieve the planned intraoperative occlusion, and how often is the final splint retained after surgery to maintain the occlusion during the initial skeletal healing phase.The investigators developed a retrospective case series. The study variables were demographic and operative. The outcome variables were the use of a final splint to achieve the desired intraoperative occlusion; the frequency and clinical indication for maintaining the final splint during the 5-weeks of initial skeletal healing; and the occlusion achieved after initial healing (5 weeks) compared to that planned from model surgery. Descriptive statistics were reported.The study sample was composed of 41 consecutive subjects. The mean age at operation was 26.9 ± 11.8 years and 51% of the subjects were male. Twenty-five subjects required segmental maxillary surgery. The final splint was used in 39% of subjects to achieve final occlusion and maintained postoperatively in only 10%. No subjects developed transverse relapse during the initial healing phase (5-weeks). All subjects with planned immediate mid-arch open-bites (n = 8) showed vertical improvement or closure during the initial healing when the splint was not maintained.The use of a final occlusal splint and then maintenance of the splint through initial skeletal healing is not required in the majority of bimaxillary orthognathic surgery cases to achieve the planned occlusion.