American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Original articleThree-dimensional computed tomography analysis of airway volume changes after rapid maxillary expansion
Section snippets
Material and methods
Pretreatment and posttreatment spiral computed tomography images (Xvision EX; Toshiba Medical Systems, Otawara-Shi, Japan) from 20 patients treated with RME were analyzed. The scans were made at 120 kV and 20 mA by using the following protocol: 25-cm field of view, 0.4-mm voxel size, and 2 seconds per section. The scans were taken with the patients in supine position and the palatal plane perpendicular to the floor.18, 19 The study was approved prospectively by the ethical committee of the
Results
The intraexaminer reliability test showed no statistically significant differences between the readings (except for PP-SN and ANS-Me) and excellent intraexaminer reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ≥0.90) for all measurements (Table II).
Comparisons between the before and after RME measurements showed statistically significant increases only in nasal cavity volume, nasopharynx volume, MP-SN, S-PNS, N-ANS, ANS-Me, and N-Me (Table III, Fig 8).
Significant positive correlations existed
Discussion
In this study, we evaluated the cephalometric parameters, airway volume, soft-palate area, and soft-tissue thickness changes before and after RME treatment using 3-dimensional images on the same set of adolescent subjects. Few studies have addressed treatment effects on the airway in the same patient population. RME is a common treatment approach for maxillary constriction, posterior crossbites, and arch length discrepancies, and is recommended to increase airway volume.23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Conclusions
RME causes significant increases in nasal cavity volume, nasopharynx volume, anterior and posterior facial heights, and palatal and mandibular planes.
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The authors report no commercial, proprietary, or financial interest in the products or companies described in this article.