Nasal septum changes in adolescent patients treated with rapid maxillary expansion

OBJECTIVE: To analyze cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans to measure changes in nasal septal deviation (NSD) after rapid maxillary expansion (RME) treatment in adolescent patients. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 33 patients presenting with moderate to severe nasal septum deviation as an incidental finding. Out of these 33 patients, 26 were treated for transverse maxillary constriction with RME and seven, who did not undergo RME treatment, were included in the study as control group. CBCT scans were taken before appliance insertion and after appliance removal. These images were analyzed to measure changes in nasal septum deviation (NSD). Analysis of variance for repeated measures (ANOVA) was used. RESULTS: No significant changes were identified in NSD regardless of the application or not of RME treatment and irrespective of the baseline deviation degree. CONCLUSION: This study did not provide strong evidence to suggest that RME treatment has any effect on NSD in adolescent patients; however, the results should be interpreted with caution, due to the small sample size and large variation amongst individual patient characteristics.