Skeletal and Alveolar Changes in Conventional Rapid Palatal Expansion (RPE) and Miniscrew-assisted RPE(MARPE): a Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial Using Low-dose CBCT

Background: This prospective randomized clinical trial aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of rapid palatal expansion (RPE) and miniscrew-assisted RPE (MARPE) on skeletal, dentoalveolar, and periodontal structures in adolescent and young adult patients. Methods: Thirty-six patients (12 men and 24 women) requiring maxillary expansion were randomly allocated to RPE (n=17) or MARPE (n=19) groups. Upon identical (35 turns) amount of expansion, low-dose cone-beam computed tomography images were taken before treatment (T0), immediately after expansion (T1), and after a 3-month consolidation period (T2). Skeletal, dentoalveolar, and periodontal measurements were performed at each time point. Results: A greater increase in nasal width in the molar region (M-NW) and greater palatine foramen (GPF) was observed immediately after expansion (T1-T0) and consolidation periods (T2-T0) in MARPE group (P<0.05). MARPE and RPE groups showed similar dentoalveolar changes except for the maxillary width (PM-MW, M-MW) (P<0.05). Through the expansion and consolidation periods (T2-T0), lesser buccal displacement of the anchor teeth was observed in the MARPE group (PM-BBPT, PM-PBPT, M-BBPT [mesial and distal roots], and M-PBPT) (P<0.05).Conclusions: Both RPE and MARPE groups exhibited significant triangular basal bone expansion and skeletal relapse during consolidation. Under identical amounts of expansion, the MARPE group showed lower decrease in the skeletal, dentoalveolar and periodontal variables after consolidation. The reinforcement of RPE with miniscrews contributes to the maintenance of the basal bone during consolidation period. This evidence can help clinicians decide the appliance design for maxillary expansion, while preventing periodontal side effects, such as buccal bone dehiscence Trial registration: WHO Institutional Clinical Trials Registry Platform (IRB No. KCT0006871 / Registration Date 27/12/2021)

Modified Hyrax for Microimplant-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion

Temporary anchorage device-assisted rapid maxillary expansion has widened the horizon to treat adults having maxillary transverse deficiency without any surgical procedure. Three-dimensional custom modifications have also been developed, but they can be expensive. A modification of Hyrax screw with the use of lingual sheaths is suggested for microimplant-assisted rapid palatal expansion, which can be an easy to fabricate in-office and economical option.

Long-term assessment of conventional and mini-screw–assisted rapid palatal expansion on the nasal cavity

ABSTRACT Objectives To evaluate the long-term effects of mini-screw–assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE), rapid palatal expansion (RPE), and controls on the nasal cavity with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods A total of 180 CBCT scans that were part of a previous randomized trial were evaluated retrospectively for 60 patients at pretreatment (T1), postexpansion (T2), and posttreatment (T3). Patients were randomly assigned into 3 groups: MARPE, RPE, and controls (time period T1 to T3; MARPE: 2 years 8 months; RPE: 2 years 9 months; control: 2 years 7 months). Nasal height, nasal length, nasion–ANS height, ANS–PNS length, pyriform height, and nasal septal deviation angle were measured. The changes in alar width, alar base width, anterior nasal cavity width, posterior nasal cavity width, maxillary intermolar width, and maxillary intercanine width were also evaluated. Results The alar base width, posterior nasal cavity width, anterior nasal cavity width, maxillary intercanine width, and maxillary intermolar width significantly increased (P &lt; .05), and the nasal septal deviation angle significantly decreased (P &lt; .05) in both the MARPE and RPE groups as compared with controls in the short term. In the long term, the nasal septal deviation angle was significantly decreased (P &lt; .05) in the MARPE and RPE groups as compared with controls, and the posterior nasal cavity width was significantly increased (P &lt; .05) in the MARPE group compared with the RPE group and controls. Conclusions MARPE and RPE led to a significant increase in the nasal cavity and alar base width compared with controls in the short term. In the long term, a significant increase was observed only in the posterior nasal cavity width with MARPE. Both MARPE and RPE led to a minimal decrease in nasal septal deviation angle in comparison with controls.

Pain Reduction during Rapid Palatal Expansion Due to LED Photobiomodulation Irradiation: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: The purpose of this research is to assess the analgesic efficiency of Photobiomodulation (PBM) in pain reduction in young patients during rapid maxillary expansion therapy. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients were included and allocated to an experimental group [Rapid Palatal Expansion (RPE) and PBM] and a control group (RPE only) at random. Inclusion criteria were skeletal age from CVS1 to CVS3, examined on the cephalometric lateral teleradiography, with cervical vertebra staging and completed eruption of upper first molar. Exclusion criteria were previous orthodontic treatment, bone disease, disability, or skeletal age from CVS4. Patients referred the pain they felt using a Numerical scale rate (NRS), ranging from 0 to 10, with specific intervals of time: 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and from days 2 to 7. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate differences in NRS reported values between the two groups. Results: The final sample included 30 patients, 14 males and 16 females, with a mean age of 7.8 ± 1.2 years. The pain that was felt at each time interval and the maximum score of pain were significantly lower in the experimental group (p < 0.05) and decreased faster in the experimental group, with a score test near to 0 after 2/3 days. Conclusions: PBM is efficient in reducing the intensity and the time of pain felt by young patients that undergo rapid maxillary expansion.