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
. 2021 Jan 1;91(1):46-53.
doi: 10.2319/022320-120.1.

Short-term and long-term effects of rapid maxillary expansion on the nasal soft and hard tissue

Cassie T Truong, Hyeran H Jeon, Puttipong Sripinun, Ann Tierney, Normand S Boucher

Short-term and long-term effects of rapid maxillary expansion on the nasal soft and hard tissue

Cassie T Truong et al. Angle Orthod. .

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate nasal soft and hard tissue changes immediately post-rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and to assess the stability of these changes using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Materials and methods: A total of 35 treatment group (TG) patients (18 girls, 17 boys; 9.39 ± 1.4) had a pre-RME CBCT and a post-RME CBCT approximately 66 days after expansion, and 25 patients had a follow-up CBCT 2.84 years later. A total of 28 control group (CG; no RME) patients (16 girls, 12 boys; 8.81 ± 1.6) had an initial CBCT and a CBCT an average of 2.25 years later. Soft and hard tissue nasal landmarks were measured in transverse, sagittal, and coronal planes of space on CBCT scans. Differences within the same group were evaluated by paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Long-term comparisons between TG and CG were evaluated by independent-sample t-tests or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.

Results: Immediately post-RME, there were statistically significant mean increases of 1.6 mm of alar base width, 1.77 mm of pyriform height, and 3.57 mm of pyriform width (P < .05). CG showed the significant increases over 2.25 years (P < .001). Compared with CG, the long-term evaluation of TG demonstrated only pyriform height and pyriform width showed a statistically significant difference (P < .01).

Conclusions: Although RME produced some significant increase on the nasal soft tissue immediately after expansion, it regressed to the mean of normal growth and development over time. However, long-term evaluation of TG compared with CG showed only pyriform height and pyriform width to be affected by RME.

Keywords: Long term; Nasal tissues; Rapid maxillary expansion (RME); Short term.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
All patients of TG were delivered a bonded rapid maxillary expander extending from the primary or permanent canine to the permanent first molar.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Landmarks in (a) axial, (b) sagittal, and (c) coronal slices. ABW, alar base width; ANS, anterior nasal spine; AW indicates alar width; N', nasion soft tissue; Pas, superior pyriform aperture; Pai, inferior pyriform aperture; Pal, left pyriform aperture; Par, right pyriform aperture; PNS, posterior nasal spine; Prn, pronasale; Sn, subnasale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Haas AJ. The treatment of maxillary deficiency by opening the midpalatal suture. Angle Orthod. 1965;35:200–217. - PubMed
    1. Haas AJ. Palatal expansion: just the beginning of dentofacial orthopedics. Am J Orthod. 1970;57(3):219–255. - PubMed
    1. Haas AJ. Long-term posttreatment evaluation of rapid palatal expansion. Angle Orthod. 1980;50(3):189–217. - PubMed
    1. Lagravere MO, Major PW, Flores-Mir C. Long-term dental arch changes after rapid maxillary expansion treatment: a systematic review. Angle Orthod. 2005;75(2):155–161. - PubMed
    1. Berger JL, Pangrazio-Kulbersh V, Thomas BW, Kaczynski R. Photographic analysis of facial changes associated with maxillary expansion. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 1999;116(5):563–571. - PubMed