title: A contact-free volumetric measurement of facial volume after third molar osteotomy: proof of concept.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study tested the reliability of an optical scanning device for the objective assessment of postoperative facial swelling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty control subjects bearing a defined volume of water (10-30 mL) in an intraorally carried balloon were tested to assess the measurement accuracy of the device. As a proof of concept, facial volumes of 59 surgical cases were recorded before osteotomy and 1 and 7 days after intervention with the use of a structured light scanner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median difference between the applied and the measured volumes was 0.67 mL for the control test with the artificial swelling simulated using water balloons. For subjects having third molar osteotomy, extraoral volume increased to 5.29 cm(3) 1 day after surgery (95% CI 5.22-8.52) and decreased to 0.00 mL (95% CI 0.85-2.55) after 7 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contact-free visible-light 3-dimensional scanning is reliable for the objective assessment of postoperative facial swelling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: bruellmd@uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brüllmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Lena Marie
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Jürchott
authors.affiliation: Department of Design, Computer Science, and Media, Rhein Main University of Applied Sciences, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trempler
authors.affiliation: Department of Design, Computer Science, and Media, Rhein Main University of Applied Sciences, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schwanecke
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf K W
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Schulze
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000601:surgery*