Surgically Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion and Mini-screw Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion - A review

This review was undertaken to compare the effects of surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) and mini-screw assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE). Discrepancies in the transverse relation between maxillary and mandibular dentition can result in the development of posterior cross bite. For the correction of posterior cross bite, maxillary expansion is frequently undertaken. The conventional approach for maxillary expansion includes expansion screw being anchored to the maxillary teeth and is known and rapid palatal expansion (RPE) appliance. However, RPE can only be applied in growing individuals and is not as effective in late adolescents and adults. In such patients, surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) technique is used to expand the maxillary arch. As this procedure involves surgery, it deters many patients from choosing SARPE as a treatment option. Recently a non-surgical technique of expansion of maxillary arch has been introduced that can be applied to late adolescents and adults using palatal mini-screws. This technique is known as mini-screw assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE). In this review, the studies in the current literature regarding the SARPE and MARPE expansion techniques as compared to conventional RPE were included. It was observed that both SARPE and MARPE are effective methods for achieving maxillary expansion. With both techniques being effective, the advantage of MARPE over SARPE is the non-surgical approach which leads to higher patient acceptance and lower rate of complications.