The patients who ask for this surgery are often young people who usually refer to symptoms related to dental malocclusion, difficulty eating and temporomandibular pain. These physical symptoms are often accompanied by psychological symptoms triggered by their physical appearance such as low self-esteem, self-confidence and negativism about their social and emotional future. Patients with skeletal malformation of facial bones, consisting in Class II, III, open bite and asymmetries, underwent orthognathic surgery. At the end of the study the results were that orthognathic surgery helps to improve a patient's psychosocial well-being. The study determined the impact of orthognathic surgery on quality of life in patients with dentofacial deformities at immediate presurgery and at 3-week, 3-month, and 6-month intervals following the surgery. Subjects included forty-three 18–40-year-old Iranian orthognathic patients who were referred to private offices in Isfahan.
Based on the finding of this study, in a 6-month interval after surgery, orthognathic surgery causes significant improvements in quality of life in patients with dentofacial deformities as assessed in emotional, psychological, oral function, and social domains and maximum changes occurred in emotional domain. Patients with light and moderate facial deformity have no significant psychological problems. Patients with severe facial deformity have a higher prevalence of emotional instability, introversion, anxiety, and unsociability. Such psychological profiles make orthognathic patients with severe facial deformity prone to psychological distress, depression, and adverse psychological reactions.