Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Jul;30(4):421-428.
doi: 10.1111/ipd.12612. Epub 2020 Jan 20.

A multicenter, prospective, randomized trial of pain and discomfort during maxillary expansion: Leaf expander versus hyrax expander

Alessandro Ugolini  1 , Gianguido Cossellu  2 , Marco Farronato  2 , Armando Silvestrini-Biavati  1 , Valentina Lanteri  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A multicenter, prospective, randomized trial of pain and discomfort during maxillary expansion: Leaf expander versus hyrax expander

Alessandro Ugolini et al. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Pain suffered by the young patient is the most frequent symptom during orthodontic treatment and is the one that most frightens children and causes worry in their families.

Aim: To investigate pain perception and function impairment during the first week of activation of two palatal expansion screws.

Design: A total of 101 subjects were randomly divided into two groups: RME group included patients treated with the standard hyrax expansion screw and LEAF group included patients treated with Leaf Expander appliance. Pain intensity was assessed via the Wong-Baker scale. A questionnaire on oral function impairments was also compiled by the patients.

Results: The Pain Scale analysis showed that patients in the RME group suffered from a significantly higher level of pain than those in the LEAF group (88.6% vs 25%, P < .01). RME group showed highest pain indexes from day 1 to day 4 (51.4% RME vs 9.7% LEAF suffered at least once from strong pain in the first 4 days, P < .01). Furthermore, oral functions were similarly affected in both groups.

Conclusions: Pain reported during maxillary arch expansion is influenced by clinical activation protocol and by the screw type. Patients treated with Leaf Expander reported significantly lower pain level in the first 7 days of treatment.

Keywords: leaf expander; maxillary expansion; pain; palatal expansion.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Bucci R, D'Antò V, Rongo R, Valletta R, Martina R, Michelotti A. Dental and skeletal effects of palatal expansion techniques: a systematic review of the current evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. J Oral Rehabil. 2016;43:543-564.
    1. Agostino P, Ugolini A, Signori A, Silvestrini-Biavati A, Harrison JE, Riley P. Orthodontic treatment for posterior crossbites. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;(8):CD000979. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000979.pub2
    1. Baccetti T, Franchi L, Cameron CG, McNamara JA Jr. Treatment timing for rapid maxillary expansion. Angle Orthod. 2001;71:343-350.
    1. Ugolini A, Cerruto C, Di Vece L, et al. Dental arch response to Haas-type rapid maxillary expansion anchored to deciduous vs permanent molars: a multicentric randomized controlled trial. Angle Orthod. 2015;85:570-576.
    1. Needleman HL, Hoang CD, Allred E, Hertzberg J, Berde C. Reports of pain by children undergoing rapid palatal expansion. Pediatr Dent. 2000;22:221-226.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources