Progress on intraoperative condylar positioning techniques in orthognathic surgery

Condylar displacement can lead to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symptoms and relapse after orthognathic surgery. To minimize condylar displacement, numerous condylar positioning techniques have been applied in clinical practice. To verify the effectiveness of condylar positioning techniques in preventing postoperative TMJ symptoms and relapse, we reviewed the literature related to all types of intraoperative condylar positioning techniques in the past 20 years. According to a literature review, positioning techniques aim to seat the condyles at a preoperative position during surgery and are divided into noncomputer-aided and computer-aided condyle positioning methods. At present, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing condylar positioning devices (CAD/CAM CPDs) are the most superior positioning methods and are composed of teeth-supported and bone-supported guidance. The sequence of the remaining technology positioning effect from high to low is as follows: CAD/CAM titanium plate positioning > manual positioning > computer-aided navigation system > image positioning system. Different techniques reach considerable accuracy within 1-2 mm and 1°-2° in locating the preoperative condylar position and preventing TMJ symptoms or disorders and surgical relapse to provide a clinical reference for different levels of surgeons and cases. However, this study lacks randomized controlled trials with large samples and long-term follow-up. Future studies should upgrade the current methods, improve the clinical utility, and develop new positioning techniques.