Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41497914›Full record

ReviewCureus2025

Impact of Bone-Borne and Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion on Airway Dimensions and Postexpansion Stability: Evidence From Cone-Beam CT Studies.

Nada N Al-Madani, Lamees A Al Salamah, Mohammed H Almutairi, Ali A Alaithan, Abdulrahman H Alsaedi, Reem A Aloraini, Joud A Aljabr, Ghadah A AlGhamdi, Abrar M Alrubayan, Latifah M Alfrihidi and 2 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

12 authors.

Nada N Al-MadaniOrthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Security Forces Hospital, Khobar, SAU.
Lamees A Al SalamahGeneral Dentistry, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, SAU.
Mohammed H AlmutairiGeneral Dentistry, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, SAU.
Ali A AlaithanCollege of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, SAU.
Abdulrahman H AlsaediDentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Reem A AlorainiGeneral Dentistry, Majmaah University, Majmaah, SAU.
Joud A AljabrGeneral Dentistry, Cosma Dental Polyclinics, Riyadh, SAU.
Ghadah A AlGhamdiGeneral Dentistry, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, SAU.
Abrar M AlrubayanGeneral Dentistry, Qassim Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Qassim, SAU.
Latifah M AlfrihidiGeneral Dentistry, East Jeddah General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, SAU.
Feras Y DahhasOrthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Al-Noor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, SAU.
Ahmad A BaqerOrthodontics, Jaber Al-Ahmad Specialist Hospital Dental Centre, Kuwait City, KWT.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This review aimed to synthesize cone-beam CT (CBCT) evidence on changes in upper airway dimensions and postexpansion stability following miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE) and other bone-borne expanders. A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar were searched for English-language human clinical studies published from 2010 to August 2, 2025. Eligible designs included randomized and non-randomized trials and prospective/retrospective cohorts reporting CBCT-derived linear or volumetric nasal and upper airway outcomes with at least five months of follow-up, using pre-post comparisons and/or comparisons with conventional expanders or untreated controls. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, assessed risk of bias, and evaluated certainty of evidence. Owing to heterogeneity in appliance designs, airway segment definitions, and follow-up schedules, a meta-analysis was not performed, and findings were narratively synthesized. In total, 17 studies (14 unique datasets) involving 12-102 participants per study and ages ranging from 8 to 33 years were included. Most studies demonstrated short- to mid-term increases in nasal cavity width/volume and nasopharyngeal dimensions after MARPE-type expansion, suggesting predominant anterior airway effects. Changes in the oropharyngeal region were inconsistent, with some studies showing enlargement and others showing no measurable difference. Long-term follow-up (≥12 months) generally indicated maintenance of skeletal and airway gains, though partial relapse was reported in some parameters; skeletal relapse tended to be smaller than dental relapse. Overall certainty of evidence for airway outcomes was low to very low. MARPE and related bone-borne expanders may increase nasal and nasopharyngeal airway dimensions and offer relatively stable transverse skeletal widening, but the predictability and clinical durability of airway benefits remain uncertain. Higher quality studies with standardized CBCT protocols and added functional airway assessments are required to confirm long-term clinical relevance.

Indexed as

airway dimensionsbone-borne rapid palatal expansioncbctlong-term stabilitymarpe

Identifiers

PMID41497914
PMCPMC12767635

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Registered trials

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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.