Abstract
Objective: To describe and to review how orthognathic surgery can affect the stomatognathic system, emphasizing the importance of postoperative physiotherapy during rehabilitation period. Bibliographic review: Orthognathic surgery can decrease the range of mandibular movements, decrease the strength of the masticatory muscles, worsen velopharyngeal function and cause different levels of neurosensory changes. Patients instructed to undergo physical therapy after surgery presented more significant and faster improvement compared to patients who did not receive this instruction. Several exercise protocols have been proposed, with different start times, duration periods and types of exercises performed. Final considerations: The orthognathic surgery’s benefits are unquestionable, but this procedure may also generate postoperative sequelae, especially concerning the orofacial muscles and sensitive nerves in the region. Although there is no consensus in the literature regarding when to start or what types of exercises to perform in post-surgical physiotherapy, most of them affirm that patients who perform them show improvement in muscle functions more quickly and more efficiently.