Comparative evaluation, effectiveness and validity of 2 systems in the surgical planning of dentofacial deformities

Purpose: Over 70% of patients suffering from dentofacial deformity mention esthetics as the biggest issue pushing them to look for orthodontic and orthognathic treatment. At present, several software for computer-aided surgery have been released on the market, this surgical planning software allow surgeons to manipulate digital representations of hard and soft tissue profile tracings and subsequently morph the pretreatment image to produce a treatment simulation. The aims of this study was to investigate and find the difference between 2 of the most used digital software in the pre-surgical planning for patients affected by dentofacial deformities. Methods That was granted by using the following parameters: usability, validity, timing, accessibility, efficacy and predictability of the pre-surgical planning and the software costs. Ethical approval, to access and use the data, was obtained from the Federico II Research Ethic Committee (371/2019, approved in 21/02/2020). Results Analyzing the results obtained from our study, it is correct to define both software tools useful and valid in the digital surgical planning for treatment of patients with dentofacial deformities. Each software has negligible differences in performance that do not in any way affect the success of the surgical planning. Conclusion Despite a slight difference regarding the costs for the purchase of the license, which see the IPS software slightly more expensive than the Dolphin software, the IPS software represents not only a valid alternative to the most popular and tested Dolphin Imaging software, but it is even inclined to evaluate it better in terms of accuracy, effectiveness, and reliability.