Corticotomy-assisted rapid maxillary expansion and maxillary protraction therapy in late adolescence: Evaluation of 3-dimensional stereophotogrammetric soft-tissue, cephalometric, and 2-dimensional airway changes: A prospective controlled clinical trial

ÇOBAN G., KABA Y. N., ÖZTÜRK T., Hashimli N., TOPCUOĞLU HASHİMLİ E., Türker G., ...Daha Fazla

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Özet

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the short-term 3-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetric soft-tissue, cephalometric, and airway effects of corticotomy-assisted rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and facemask (FM) therapy in late-adolescent patients with Class III malocclusion. Methods: This prospective controlled clinical trial included 16 late-adolescent patients with Class III malocclusion (mean age, 14.90 ± 0.64 years) treated with corticotomy-assisted RME and Petit-type FM therapy and 16 untreated Class III controls (mean age, 14.03 ± 0.90 years). Lateral cephalograms and 3D stereophotogrammetric records were obtained at pretreatment and posttretment or at corresponding time points during the observation period. Paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used for within-group comparisons, and independent t tests or Mann-Whitney U tests were used for between-group comparisons (P <0.05). Results: In the corticotomy group, SNA (2.36°), A-Na perp (2.67 mm), ANB (4.08°), SN-GoGn (3.41°), and overjet (5.97 mm) increased, whereas SNB (–1.71°), Pg-Na perp (–2.61 mm), and IMPA (–4.32°) decreased. A 3D soft-tissue analysis revealed increases in ANB angle (2.50°), maxillary length (1.16 mm), mandibular height (2.94 mm), and nasal ala and alar base width (1.57 and 1.97 mm), whereas mandibular corpus length (–2.58 mm), facial convexity (–4.84°), and bigonial width (–3.94 mm) decreased. After treatment, bilateral Al showed lateral displacement along the horizontal (x) axis, whereas bilateral alare curvature and subnasale showed anterior displacement along the sagittal (z) axis, with nonsignificant 2.5 mm between-group difference observed at Pg. An approximately 1-mm increase in nasopharyngeal airway length was observed, but no significant between-group differences were found. Conclusions: Despite reduced growth potential, corticotomy-assisted RME and FM therapy produced measurable short-term skeletal and 3D soft-tissue improvements in patients with true skeletal Class III malocclusion in late adolescence and may serve as an intermediate adjunctive option; however, long-term stability and randomized comparative data are required.