The effects of rapid maxillary expansion and face-mask application on mesio-distal axial inclination and apex flexion of maxillary canine tooth

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and face-mask application (FMA) on the mesio-distal axial inclination and apex flexion of maxillary canine tooth in mixed dentition. Methods: In this study, panoramic radiographs of 38 patients were used. In the study group, there were 19 patients who treated with RME and FMA. The control group comprised 19 patients who did not applied treatment. In the study group, radiographs were separated at the before (T0) and after (T1) RME and FMA. Radiographs for the control group were separated before (T0) and after (T1) maxillary canine eruption. The inclination and flexion of maxillary canine were measured on these radiographs. A Shapiro Wilk test was used to test the data for a normal distribution. A Wilcoxon test was used for intra-group comparisons of T0 and T1 measurements and a Mann Whitney U test was used for inter-group comparisons of T1-T0 differences and flexion values. The significance level was considered to be p < 0.05. Results: There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.748) between the T0 and T1 measurements in the study group but a statistically significant decrease was found in the control group (p = 0.031). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for T1-T0 (p = 0.271) and flexion (p = 0.583) measurements. Conclusion: RME and FMA does not have a significant effects on mesio-distal axial inclination and the apex flexion of maxillary canine tooth in mixed dentition.