Date of Award
Fall 2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Dentistry
First Advisor
Shivam Mehta
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the long-term skeletal and dental asymmetry following Mini-screw Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE), Rapid Palatal Expansion (RPE) and controls with 3D cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis. Methods: 180 CBCT scans were evaluated retrospectively for 60 patients at pre-treatment (T1), post-expansion (T2), and post-treatment (T3). The patients were randomly assigned into 3 groups – MARPE, RPE, and controls. Anterior Nasal Spine (ANS), Posterior Nasal Spine (PNS), Zygomaticomaxillary Point (ZMA), Anterior Nasal Cavity Width (ANCW), Posterior Nasal Cavity Width (PNCW), External Maxillary Width (EMW), Palatal Width (PW), Maxillary Width (MMW), Maxillary Canine Width (MCW) were measured on the left and right side. Results: Right and left ANS, ZMA, anterior nasal cavity width, posterior nasal cavity width, external maxillary width, palatal width, maxillary molar width, and maxillary canine width, and left PNS were significantly increased in both MARPE and RPE compared to controls at T2 (p<0.05). RPE group showed a significantly greater molar width on the left side than right side at T2 (p<0.05). In the long-term, the right and left posterior nasal cavity were greater in MARPE compared to RPE and controls (p<0.05, Table 5). Additionally, MARPE group showed a significant increase in right ANS compared to controls at T3 (p<0.05, Table 5). Furthermore, RPE showed a significantly greater left palatal width compared to controls at T3. Conclusion: RPE led to a significant increase in the left molar width compared to right molar width in the short-term. However, at post-treatment, no differences were observed in the right vs. left side within the three groups, indicating no asymmetry in the skeletal and dental parameters in the long-term following expansion with MARPE and RPE. In the long-term, a significant increase was observed in right and left posterior nasal cavity width in MARPE compared to RPE and controls.