Dimensional changes of upper airway after slow vs rapid miniscrew-supported maxillary expansion in adolescents: a cone-beam computed tomography study.

Yomna M Yacout, Nadia M El-Harouni, Ahmed M Madian

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In one paragraph

Article in BMC oral health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it

3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

The short- and long-term changes of upper airway and alar in nongrowing patients treated with Mini-Implant Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE): a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2023
Pooled it
Three-dimensional CBCT evaluation of nasal and pharyngeal airway changes after rapid maxillary expansion: A study among growing children.Bioinformation · 2026
Article
Impact of Bone-Borne and Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion on Airway Dimensions and Postexpansion Stability: Evidence From Cone-Beam CT Studies.Cureus · 2025
Review
Upper airway dimensions and craniofacial morphology: A correlation study using cone beam computed tomography.Korean journal of orthodontics · 2024
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Yomna M YacoutDepartment of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, P. O. Box: 21521, Alexandria, Egypt. yomna.yacout@alexu.edu.eg.

Nadia M El-HarouniDepartment of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, P. O. Box: 21521, Alexandria, Egypt.

Ahmed M MadianDepartment of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, P. O. Box: 21521, Alexandria, Egypt.

Alexandria University · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo date, the effects of different activation rates of miniscrew-supported expanders on the airway have not been compared. Hence, the purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate and compare the effects of slow and rapid miniscrew-supported maxillary expansion on the upper airway dimensions using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

methodsData of 20 patients (Age 12 to 16 years old) treated using miniscrew-supported expanders at the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University was collected. The patients were equally divided into two groups according to the activation protocol; slow maxillary expansion (SME): activation once every other day, and rapid maxillary expansion (RME): activation twice daily. CBCT scans obtained pre-expansion and 5 months post-expansion were used to evaluate the changes in the upper airway dimensions. Comparisons between the two time points within each group were done using paired samples t-test. SME and RME groups were compared using independent samples t-test. Significance level was set at p < 0.05.

resultsBoth groups showed a significant increase in anterior, middle, and posterior nasal cavity width. SME resulted in significantly greater increase of the anterior nasal cavity width than RME (Mean difference between the groups, 2.64 mm; 95% CI, 0.83, 4.45; p = 0.007). The dimensions of the retropalatal and retroglossal airways did not change significantly in either group. Both groups resulted in a significant increase of maxillary width, palatal width, and inter-molar width. RME showed a significantly larger increase of inter-molar width than SME (Mean difference between the groups, - 2.44 mm; 95% CI, - 3.88, - 1.00; p = 0.002).

conclusionsThe use of either a slow or rapid activation protocol is effective in expanding the nasomaxillary complex, with greater expansion achieved in the anterior section of the nasal cavity using the slow rate. However, the expander design employed in the current study does not affect the dimensions of the retropalatal or retroglossal airways.

Indexed as

Dental CariesPalatal Expansion TechniqueAdolescentChildCone-Beam Computed TomographyFacultyHumansRetrospective StudiesMiniscrewsRapid maxillary expansionRetroglossal airwayRetropalatal airwaySlow maxillary expansion

Identifiers

PMID36424571

DOI10.1186/s12903-022-02581-9

PMCPMC9686034

OpenAlexW4309890085

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.