Social anxiety in orthognathic patients

International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Patients with dentofacial discrepancies can experience significant effects on their quality of life and one of the potential effects is anxiety in social situations. This study aimed to investigate social anxiety in a group of patients undergoing orthognathic treatment for severe dentofacial discrepancies and compare the findings with a control group of members of the general publi.

It was found that orthognathic patients had significantly higher social anxiety scores than the general UK population. It is recommended that patients should be screened for social anxiety prior to commencing treatment and offered additional support where high levels of anxiety exist.

Future studies should look at whether social anxiety changes following treatment and whether pre-treatment values may affect outcomes.

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