Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dentoalveolar effects of rapid maxillary expansion in children with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate in comparison with non-cleft patients. Methods: The experimental group (EG) was composed of 25 patients with unilateral and complete cleft lip and palate (9 males and 15 females) with a mean age of 10.6 years. The control group (CG) comprised of 27 patients without cleft lip and palate (14 males and 13 females) with a mean age of 9.1 years. Dental models of the maxillary dental arch were obtained immediately preexpansion (T1) and 6 months post-expansion (T2) at the time of appliance removal. Digital dental models were obtained using the 3Shape R700 3D laser scanner (3Shape A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark). Transversal widths, arch perimeter, arch length, palatal depth, palatal volume, canine and posterior tooth inclination were digitally measured. Paired t-test was used to perform interphase comparisons and independent t-test to perform intergroup comparisons (p<0.05). Results: In the experimental group, the expansion produced a significant increase of all maxillary transverse measurements, palatal volume, arch perimeter and palatal depth while decreased the arch length. RME caused a buccal tip of posterior teeth in patients with UCLP. No differences were observed between experimental and control groups for all the measurements performed except for the intermolar distance (6-6), which showed a greater increase in patients with cleft. Conclusion: Rapid maxillary expansion showed similar dentoalveolar effects in children with UCLP and without oral clefts.

Objectives To evaluate whether the success of miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE), performed in patients with advanced bone maturation is related to factors such as midpalatal suture (MPS) maturation, age, sex, or bicortical mini-implant anchorage. Materials and Methods Twenty-eight cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of adults and post-pubertal adolescents treated by MARPE were included in the sample. CBCT images before (T0) and after expansion (T1) were used to evaluate the skeletal changes and the success or failure of MARPE. Axial images of MPS were extracted from T0 and classified into one of the five maturation stages. The correlation between MARPE success and the factors of age, sex, MPS maturation, and bicortical mini-implant anchorage was investigated. Results Only the age showed a statistically significant negative correlation with MARPE success and all the skeletal measures. There was an 83.3% success rate among individuals aged 15 to 19 years, 81.8% from 20 to 29 years, and 20% from 30 to 37 years. MPS maturation showed a negative correlation with the expansion effect. Subjects with stages B or C of MPS maturation showed a 100% success rate, followed by stage D (62.5%) and stage E (58.3%). Conclusions As age increased, there was a decrease in MARPE success and the skeletal effects of maxillary expansion. Sex and bicortical mini-implant anchorage were not shown to be relevant factors. There was no correlation between MPS maturation and MARPE success; however, it was observed that all cases of MARPE failure were classified as stage D or E of MPS maturation.

No abstract

No abstract