Quantitative Evaluation of Attention to Faces After Orthognathic Surgery With Eye-tracking

Dentofacial deformities refer to morphological anomalies of the jaws. Their development during growth determines the shape of the lower third of the face and the type of dental occlusion. A maxillo-mandibular dysmorphosis associates morphological modification of the face and anomaly of the occlusion. If these anomalies are most often hereditary, they also depend on acquired factors such as swallowing, breathing, sucking or phonation disorders. Angle's classification defines three classes of dental occlusion: class I, when the ratio between the maxillary and mandibular first molars is normal, class II when the upper molar is too far forward, and class III when it is too far back. Class II and III dysmorphoses can result in an alteration of the masticatory function, pain (TMJ, headaches) or sleep apnea. At the same time, they cause patients to experience a decrease in self-esteem, anxiety and social discomfort. Class II and II usually require orthodontic treatment and orthognathic surgery to correctly align the jaws. This surgery has a positive impact on the dental occlusion and the functions concerned, but also on the facial morphology, all of which often leads to an improvement in the patient's quality of life.

Standardized photographs presenting control subjects (class I) and patients (class II and class III) before and after surgery will be included in an approximately 10 min video sequence. Naive participants will look at this sequence during which the faces of the controls and the patients - before and after surgery - will alternate, with the instruction being free visual exploration of the images. The total fixation durations in defined areas of interest (eyes, nose, mouth, chin) will be recorded with an eye tracking device and the results will be processed using a dedicated software.