ABSTRACT Objective To assess the facial soft tissue modifications following rapid maxillary expansion (RME) with Hybrid Hyrax (HH) and MARPE during late adolescence through 3D stereophotogrammetry. Methods Twenty‐two patients with maxillary constrictions and posterior crossbites were randomly allocated into two groups. The HH group ( n = 11; mean age 16.7 ± 1.85 years) received an expander anchored with two palatal miniscrews, while the MARPE group ( n = 11; mean age 16.2 ± 1.39 years) received an expander with four miniscrews. The expander screws were activated one‐quarter turn twice a day for 14 days. 3D facial images were captured at baseline (T1), immediately after the active phase of the expansion (T2) and 6 months post‐retention (T3). 3D images were processed using the Quantificare LifeViz Mini App software (Quantificare S.A, France) to achieve 3D measurements. Data analysis was performed blindly, on an intention‐to‐treat approach. Changes were analysed using two‐way ANOVA with repeated measures ( p < 0.05). Results Both groups showed similar patterns of soft tissue changes. Nasal base width increased significantly from T1 to T2 in both groups (HH: 1.5 mm; MARPE: 1.9 mm), followed by a slight decrease at T3. Inter‐commissural distance increased (HH: 1.6 mm; MARPE: 2.4 mm) and partially relapsed after expansion. A significant increase in inter‐canthal distance was observed in the MARPE group (1.0 mm). Bizygomatic width remained stable after expansion in both groups. Upper and lower facial heights showed increases after expansion (HH: 0.5 mm, MARPE: 1.4 mm; HH: 0.3 mm, MARPE: 0.9 mm, respectively), with no difference between groups. Conclusion RME anchored on two and four palatal miniscrews in late adolescents produced similar increases in the facial soft tissue immediately after expansion. Trial Registration ReBEC UTN code: U1111‐1296‐4040
Silva et al. (Wed,) studied this question.