Surgically Assisted Palatal Expansion With a Bone-Borne Self-Retaining Palatal Expander
Purpose
To evaluate the use of a bone-borne self-retaining palatal expander to treat transverse maxillary hypoplasia in place of conventional tooth-borne expanders in conjunction with surgically assisted palatal expansion.
Patients and Methods
Ten patients with transverse maxillary hypoplasia underwent surgically assisted palatal expansion with insertion of a bone-borne self-retaining palatal expander from May 2005 to December 2006.
Results
All 10 patients had adequate transverse expansion. Nine of 10 patients had symmetric expansion. Twelve months postexpansion, none of the patients had transverse relapse.
Conclusion
Surgically assisted palatal expansion with a bone-borne self-retaining palatal expander is a viable alternative to more conventional palatal expanders.
⁎Associate Professor, Department of Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
†Resident, Department of Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Aziz: 110 Bergen Street, Room B854, Newark, NJ 07103
ABSTRACT