Evaluation of nasal airway resistance in a cohort of children with primary snoring and maxillary deficiency.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether rapid palatal expansion is effective to improve nasal airway patency in a sample of pediatric patients with primary snoring. A group of 21 subjects, 11 girls (52%) and 10 boys (48%), with a mean age of 7.1 years (SD=1.3; range 4-9 years) were treated with a rapid maxillary expansion (RME) device. Nasal airway resistance was assessed via rhinomanometric exam before (pre-) and 6 months after (post-) the rapid palatal expansion treatment. Data analysis showed a statistically significant increase in the mean scores of the results of the rhinomanometric exam between the pre- and post-measurements with a significant reduction in total inspiratory and expiratory air resistance values after rapid palatal expansion. Our results show that RME treatment is associated with an improvement in nasal airway resistance due to a substantial reduction in nasal resistance associated with the orthopedic action of the orthodontic device.