Minerva Dent Oral Sci. 2022 Nov 7. doi: 10.23736/S2724-6329.22.04727-1. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to test whether rapid palatal expansion is effective to improve nasal airway patency in a sample of pediatric patients with primary snoring.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A group of 21 subjects, 11 girls (52%) and 10 boys (48%), with a mean age of 7.1 years (SD = 1.3; range 4-9 years) were treated with a rapid maxillary expansion (RME) device. Nasal airway resistance was assessed via rhinomanometric exam before (pre) and 6 months after (post) the rapid palatal expansion treatment.
RESULTS: Data analysis showed a statistically significant increase in the mean scores of the results of the rhinomanometric exam between the “pre” and “post” measurements with a significant reduction in total inspiratory and expiratory air resistance values after rapid palatal expansion.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that RME treatment is associated with an improvement in nasal airway resistance due to a substantial reduction in nasal resistance associated with the orthopedic action of the orthodontic device.
PMID:36345835 | DOI:10.23736/S2724-6329.22.04727-1
