Guoda Mockutė1, Ieva Gudelevičiūtė1, Giedrė Trakinienė2
1Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Odontology, Kaunas, Lithuania
2Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Odontology, Kaunas, Lithuania
Abstract
Background and Objectives. It is noticed that rapid maxillary expansion (RME) is not only an effective treatment for correcting transverse orthodontic anomalies but its advantages to the upper airway are reported too. This systematic review aimed to evaluate nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal volumetric changes and their correlation with skeletal and dental measurements after RME treatment.
Methods. This systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines. The literature search was conducted using PubMed Cochrane Library, and Science Direct electronic databases. Data assessing changes in upper airway characteristics after RME treatment evaluated with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was extracted, and quality of the studies was assessed.
Results. A total of 278 articles were identified in the electronic database. After applying selection criteria 9 studies were included in this systematic review. According to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), all included articles were graded as “Good” quality. The controversial results were observed regarding nasopharyngeal volume changes after RME. The volume of oropharynx increased after RME, however, only two of five authors found this result being statistically significant. Improved apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) and better oxygen saturation by 5 % were reported in three studies. It was calculated that maxillary width expansion by 1mm leads to oropharyngeal volume enlargement from 363.7 to 1571.0 mm3, as well as the intermolar width increasement by 1mm raises oropharyngeal volume from 439.0 mm3 to 997.2 mm3.
Conclusion. RME treatment tends to increase oropharyngeal volume and improve respiratory performance. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to heterogeneity of the included studies and further research is needed for more reliable conclusions.
Keywords. Rapid maxillary expansion, upper airways, morphology, functional characteristics, systematic review