Clinical experiences of digital model surgery and the rapid-prototyped wafer for maxillary orthognathic surgery

Objective The aim of this study was to present our clinical experience regarding the production and accuracy of digitally printed wafers for maxillary movement during the bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Study design Fifty-five consecutive patients requiring maxillary orthognathic surgery were included in this study. The plan for digital model surgery (DMS) was dictated by the surgical plans for each clinical case. We carried out digital model mounting, DMS, wafer printing, and confirmation of the accuracy of the procedure. Results Moving the reference points to the target position in DMS involved a mean error of 0.00-0.09 mm. The mean errors confirmed by the model remounting procedure with the printed wafer by DMS were 0.18-0.40 mm (for successful cases; n = 42) and 0.03-1.04 mm (for poor cases; n = 3). Conclusion The accuracies of the wafers by DMS were similar to those for wafers produced by manual model surgery, although they were less accurate than those produced by DMS alone. The rapid-prototyped interocclusal wafer produced with the aid of DMS can be an alternative procedure for maxillary orthognathic surgery.