Background: The mandibular internal curvilinear distractor design produces a curvilinear vector to provide the ideal three-dimensional curvilinear movements compared to the limited straight unidirectional predecessor devices.Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort study included 40 patients, who underwent mandibular distraction surgery. Preoperative, postoperative and follow-up panoramic and lateral cephalometric radiographs were traced by plotting different skeletal landmarks and analyzed. The differences between the linear distances measured on theses radiographs were further evaluated for 25 of the patients, who presented bilateral disordered mandibular developmentResults: The curvilinear distraction effect on the mandible was found to be significantly stable when comparing the long term follow-up measurements to the postoperative data. There were no significant differences between the values of the linear measurements determined by lateral cephalometric and panoramic radiographs. Linear regression analysis of the measurements showed very high, positive and statistically significant correlations, for both sides for most of the measurements.Conclusion: The internal curvilinear device is an effective tool that obtains a stable mandibular distraction resulting in the correction of craniofacial deformities and panoramic radiographs seem to be a reliable tool for assessing vertical and horizontal dimensional changes resulting from this type of surgery.
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