Abstract
The skeletal open bite of a 52-year-old female which condition was accompanied by temporomandibular joint disorder, was treated by orthognathic surgery that distracted the lower border of the mandibular body using an extra-oral device, to change the angle of the mandibular body with the ramus. A wedgeshaped osteotomy was performed at the third molar area, and multi-guide distraction devices were applied bilaterally. Mandibular bone was distracted with three-dimensionally controlled displacement of the distal fragment. After a waiting period of 8 days, the device was advanced 0.1mm, or 3°, per day, for 16 days. As a result of this treatment, the open bite was improved, and the occlusal relationship was stabilized. Although a cutaneous scar and difficulty in device-setting were problems, control of osteodistraction was very easy.
