Short-term evaluation of tegumentary changes of the nose in oral breathers undergoing rapid maxillary expansion

Publication date: Available online 26 June 2017
Source:Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
Author(s): Fauze Ramez Badreddine, Reginaldo Raimundo Fujita, Mario Cappellette
IntroductionRapid maxillary expansion (RME) is an orthodontic and orthopedic procedure that can change the form and function of the nose. The soft tissue of the nose and its changes can influence the esthetics and the stability of the results obtained by the RME.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the changes in nose dimensions after rapid maxillary expansion (RME) in oral breathers with maxillary atresia, using a reliable and reproducible methodology through computed tomography.MethodsA total of 30 mouth-breathing patients with maxillary atresia were analyzed and divided into a Treatment Group (TG) who underwent RME (20 patients, 10 of which were male and 10 female, with a MA of 8.9 years and a SD of 2.16, ranging from 6.5 to 12.5 years) and a Control Group (CG) (10 patients, 5 of which were male and 5 female, with a MA of 9.2 years, SD of 2.17, ranging from 6.11 to 13.7 years). In the TG, multislice computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained at the start of the treatment (T1) and 3 months after expansion (T2). The patients of the CG were submitted to the same exams at the same intervals of time. Four variables related to soft tissue structures of the nose were analyzed (alar base width, alar width, height of soft tissue of the nose and length of soft tissue of the nose), and the outcomes between T1 and T2 were compared using Osirix MD software.ResultsIn the TG, the soft tissues of the nose exhibited significant increases in all variables studied (p<0.05), whereas, changes did not occur in the CG (p>0.05). In the TG, mean alar base width increased by 4.87% (p=0.004), mean alar width increased by 4.04% (p=0.004), mean height of the soft tissues of the nose increased by 4.84% (p=0.003) and mean length of the soft tissues of the nose increased by 4.29% (p=0.012).ConclusionIn short-term, RME provided a statistically significant increase in the dimensions of the soft tissues of the nose.



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