The Accuracy of Dolphin Software in Predicting Soft Tissue Changes after Orthognathic Surgery

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy of Dolphin Imaging version 11.8 software, in predicting soft and hard tissue changes after orthognathic jaw surgery.

In this retrospective study, pre- and postoperative cephalograms and photographs of 20 patients were scanned and inserted into Dolphin Imaging version 11.8 software and traced by the software. Cephalometric superimposition was performed before and after the operation to determine the extent of changes in each jaw. The software then simulated postoperative images according to the calculated changes for each patient.

The results of this study showed that the upper lip had the highest accuracy in both sagittal and vertical axes. The highest reliability was in the upper lip with 80% error in the sagittal axis and the tip of the nose with 80% error in the vertical axis. The lowest accuracy in our study was related to soft tissue Menton which had the least reliability with an error frequency of 35% and 45% in the sagittal and vertical axis, respectively.

Based on the method used and the findings obtained by digital measurements, it can be concluded that the Dolphin Imaging version 11.8 software can be used to reliably predict hard tissue as well as soft tissue, especially in the upper lip area.