Mini-implant Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion

Maxillary expansion treatments have been used for more than a century to correct the maxillary transverse deficiency. Traditionally, maxillary transverse deficiency has been treated with slow maxillary expansion (SME) and rapid palatal expansion (RPE) techniques that rely on a combination of orthopedic and dental expansion to correct the skeletal disharmony. Many types of SME and RPE appliances have been developed with different rates of expansion, but the principles are essentially the same. By exerting transverse force on the maxillary dentition, the mid-palatal suture disrupts and separates, leading to increased cellular activity in that area that induces bone remodeling. Brown introduced the concept of surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) in 1938 and then SARPE procedure gradually became the main treatment modality for adult patients with maxillary transverse discrepancy. These drawbacks of SME, RPE and SARPE lead to the idea of tooth-bone-borne rapid maxillary expansion device based on mini-screws called mini-implant-assisted rapid palatal expansion appliance(MARPE). This book has a comprehensive review about evolution and technique of MARPE.