Abstract

The goals of orthognathic surgery are to improve function and facial esthetics. Comprehensive surgical planning therefore involves a prediction of facial change resulting from the surgery which may be desirable or undesirable. A prediction of profile is currently conducted on a lateral cephalometric radiogram using hard to soft tissue ratios or linear regression formulas. The nasolabial region, the central esthetic unit of the face, is significantly altered by maxillary surgery, and accurate prediction is difficult by those methods. We are developing a profile prediction expert system using fuzzy inference.