Maxillary Skeletal Expansion, also referred to as MSE or MARPE, is a cutting-edge orthodontic technique aimed at correcting certain types of dental and skeletal discrepancies in the upper jaw, known as the maxilla. These innovative appliances are used to correct a small jaw in adults (maxillary hypoplasia). A small upper jaw can be expanded easily with a simple appliance and by using the permanent teeth as an anchor when the patient is young due to the maxillary sutures not being fully matured.
However, once the patient becomes an adult, the upper sutures are fully matured and it requires stronger anchors (stronger than teeth) to open the suture. The traditional approach for upper jaw expansion for an adult patient is to have upper jaw surgery called SARPE (Surgically Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion) where the maxillary sutures are surgically released, allowing the upper jaw to be moved with an expander. At Metro West Orthodontics & Periodontics, we provide an alternative treatment to the traditional SARPE procedure. We use mini implants as an anchorage to apply pressure to the palatal suture to open it. It takes minimally invasive periodontal surgery to place the mini-implants and the patient can be either fully sedated or undergo the procedure under local anesthetics.
Contact us today at 402-614-7022 to learn more about MARPE therapy in La Vista, Nebraska, and the surrounding areas of Elkhorn, Omaha and Papillion, Nebraska, and schedule your appointment with our orthodontist, Dr. Kim.