• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.330-336
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• 2013

Considering the high prevalence, transverse control in adult patients presenting relatively narrow maxillary width is a challenging issue. This study compared the pattern of arch expansion induced by either miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expander (MARPE) or continuous archwire engaged on self-ligating brackets. Age-matched adults groups(N=15 each) were treated with respective appliance. In both groups, all intercanine, interpremolar, and intermolar widths increased, and significantly greater change was noted in the intermolar region. Buccal tipping was minimal in both groups. Subsequent arch length increase, lingual tipping of incisors and distal tipping of molars were also found in both groups. According to the results, it can be concluded that the MARPE induced generally more arch expansion, particularly in the intermolar width, indicating that the adults showing buccal crossbite of the molars may have to undergo expansion via MARPE prior to arch alignment using continuous archwire.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.399-411
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of this randomized clinical trial was to study the skeletal and dental effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) along with a miniscrew-assisted expander (Hyrax) after six months of retention. Methods: After sequence generation, concealed allocation, and implementation, 24 female patients were randomly divided (1:1) into two-groups: bone-borne rapid palatal expansion (BBE) without LLLT (n = 12) and BBE with LLLT (n = 12). Eligibility criteria included female patients aged 10-13 years old with bilateral posterior crossbites. Intraoral and extraoral photographs, cone-beam computed tomography images, and digital study models were obtained before expansion and six months after retention. The 7 mm Hyrax appliance was anchored to four palatal mini-screws, which were activated twice daily for 15 days, then locked and kept in place as a retainer. LLLT was performed in the laser group during expansion and retention, according to the guidelines provided. Results: The records of 24 patients were analyzed. According to the post-retention measurements, both groups showed a significant increase in nasal and maxillary widths and total facial height. In the laser group, the Sella-Nasion-Point A and Point A-Nasion-Point B angles and the interpremolar apical distance were significantly increased. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, the results suggest that the parameters and protocol of LLLT do not clinically affect the efficiency of BBE in prepubertal and pubertal patients.