title: The value of cone beam computed tomography imaging in surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion: a systematic review of the literature.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging of the maxillary structures and the postoperative dentoskeletal, nasal airway, periodontal, and facial soft tissue changes after surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE). A systematic review of the literature on CBCT analysis of SARPE was performed. The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Nine articles were included, involving a total of 228 patients. The general trend was tooth-borne distraction with pterygomaxillary dysjunction. A systematic increase in all transverse dimensions at the dentoalveolar and dental levels, as well as a certain degree of tipping and extrusion of the anchorage teeth and tipping of the skeletal segments, was detected. Soft tissue findings reflected the underlying dentoalveolar changes. A decrease in the buccal alveolar bone thickness and alveolar crest level occurred. Results confirm that CBCT is an accurate and reliable method to assess anatomical changes after SARPE. Although this systematic review provides valuable preliminary information about the effects of SARPE, results should be interpreted with caution due to the low level of evidence of the publications, great heterogeneity among study groups regarding outcome variables and surgical-orthodontic protocols, and lack of long-term data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, International University of Catalonia (UIC), Sant Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Camps-Perepérez
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, International University of Catalonia (UIC), Sant Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Maxillofacial Surgery, Teknon Medical Centre Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: guijarro.raq@gmail.com.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guijarro-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, International University of Catalonia (UIC), Sant Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Peiró-Guijarro
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, International University of Catalonia (UIC), Sant Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Maxillofacial Surgery, Teknon Medical Centre Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hernández-Alfaro
mesh_terms: D002508:Cephalometry; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; D006801:Humans; D019857:Osteogenesis, Distraction; D010027:Osteotomy; D010155:Palatal Expansion Technique; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: CBCT; RPE; SARPE; cone beam computed tomography; distraction osteogenesis; rapid palatal expansion; surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion; systematic review