Changes in quality of life after orthognathic surgery in Saudi patients

AIM: This study was conducted to measure the impact of orthognathic surgery on quality of life in Saudi patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with a discrepancy of 5 mm or more who underwent orthognathic surgery either single jaw or bimaxillary at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, between September 2007 and June 2013 were included in the study. They were asked to complete the Arabic version of the 22-item Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ) preoperatively and postoperatively. Responses at these two timepoints were compared using paired t-tests, with the significance level set to P < 0.05. RESULTS: Seventeen patients participated in the study. Total OQLQ scores and those in the instrument’s four domains (oral function, facial aesthetics, awareness of dentofacial aesthetics, and social aspects) indicated that quality of life was significantly improved by orthognathic surgery (all P < 0.001). The social aspect domain was shown to be more important for patients than were facial aesthetics and oral function. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed highly significant improvement in Saudi patients’ quality of life following orthognathic surgery. This improvement was evident in all four OQLQ domains.