INTRODUCTION

Midpalatal suture opening in young adults is often difficult to achieve, depending on the suture maturation stage. It has been suggested that it is possible to avoid surgery and still achieve a successful pure skeletal expansion if a bone-borne Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expander is chosen (MARPE).

CASE PRESENTATION

The following case report describes the use of a pure bone-borne miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expander followed by lingual fixed appliance to correct a severe transversal discrepancy in an adult patient characterized by a hyperdivergent mandibular skeletal pattern.

MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOMES

All treatment phases were digitally planned, starting with the miniscrews' insertion with a three-dimensionally printed surgical guided (Miniscrew Assisted Palatal Application: MAPA system) and Tandem Skeletal Expander (TSE) appliance, to the lingual indirect bonding. The final outcomes confirmed that this orthodontic approach represented a valid alternative to orthognathic surgery, with a significant improvement of the patient's occlusion and facial appearance.

DISCUSSION

The Tandem Skeletal Expander (TSE) design and the expansion protocol applied allowed to obtain a significant and stable skeletal increase of transversal diameters by digital planning of the insertion of miniscrews, with lower risks and costs than other surgical approaches.