Evaluations of sagittal and vertical changes induced by surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion

Class II, anterior open bite and/or a steep mandibular plane angle are frequently considered a contraindication to the use of surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE). Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the maxillary and mandibular effects after SARPE on the sagittal and vertical planes, with dissimilar results and small samples of patients.The aim of the current study was to evaluate the sagittal and vertical effects after SARPE. Twenty-one consecutive adult patients (7 males, 14 females; mean age, 25.6 ± 6.3 years) who required SARPE were included in this study. All patients were subjected to subtotal LeFort I osteotomy with pterygomaxillary disjunction. Lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken during the preoperative assessment (T0) and 6 months after the end of the expansion (T1). Cephalometric measurements were realized at T0 and T1 for all the patients. Independent-sample t test and analysis of variance were used. Statistically significant changes were observed only in upper incisor^NA (P = 0.04). No skeletal sagittal or vertical variation was found after SARPE. Class II, anterior open bite and/or a steep mandibular plane angle cannot be considered an outright contraindication to its use. Upper incisor palatal inclination could result after SARPE.