Objective: To analyze quantitatively the circumaxillary suture opening after alternate rapid maxillary expansions and constrictions (Alt-RAMEC).
Material and Methods: Fourteen growing patient’s at the cervical vertebrae bone age 2 to 3 formed the study sample. Cone Beam Computed Tomograms (CBCT) were taken for the study of the circumaxillary suture width before (T0) and right after the Alt-RAMEC (T1). The method of region of interest (ROI) was used for the measurement of the circumaxillary suture width of each patient at T0 and T1. Non-parametric analyses were used to analyze the suture width differences of the same suture between T0 and T1 (p<0.05), and the amount of suture width changes among different circumaxillary sutures (p<0.05).
Results: All of the examined circumaxillary sutures were significantly (p<0.001) opened 0.81~0.94 mm from T0 to T1, including both of the sagittally and coronally running circumaxillary sutures, and the sutures directly and indirectly articulating to the maxilla. There were no significant differences in the amount of suture opening between the coronally and sagittally running sutures, and also between the sutures directly and indirectly articulating to the maxilla.
Conclusion: Largely Alt-RAMEC proves to be an effective procedure in eliciting sutural disjunction for the subsequent maxillary orthopedic protraction, specially the coronally running circumaxillary sutures and the sutures remote from the maxilla.