Long-term stability of maxillary and mandibular arch dimensions when using rapid palatal expansion and edgewise mechanotherapy in growing patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term stability of rapid palatal expansion (RPE) followed by full fixed edgewise appliances. Methods: This study included 67 patients treated using Haas-type RPE and non-extraction edgewise appliance therapy at a single orthodontic practice. Serial dental casts were obtained at three different time points: pretreatment ($T_1$), after expansion and fixed appliance therapy ($T_2$), and at long-term recall ($T_3$). The mean duration of the $T_1-T_2$ and $T_2-T_3$ periods was $4.8{\pm}3.5years$ and $11.0{\pm}5.4years$, respectively. The dental casts were digitized, and the computed measurements were compared with untreated reference data. Results: The majority of treatment-related increases in the maxillary and mandibular arch measurements were statistically significant (p < 0.05) and greater than expected for the untreated controls. Although many measurements decreased postretention ($T_2-T_3$), the net gains persisted for all of the measurements evaluated. Conclusions: The use of RPE therapy followed by full fixed edgewise appliances is an effective method for increasing maxillary and mandibular arch width dimensions in growing patients.