Oral orthopedics and movement of maxillary segments. A roentgen stereophotogrammetric study.

An infant with a complete unilateral cleft of the lip and palate underwent maxillary expansion treatment using an oral orthopedic appliance. Movement of the maxillary bone segments was studied by means of metallic implants and roentgen stereophotogrammetry, and intra-oral changes were recorded by measuring transverse dimensions on casts. Expansion treatment had almost no influence on the positions of the maxillary segments, and movements of the segments showed little agreement with measures on casts. The findings suggest that the appropriate use of the term oral orthopedics and the evaluation of treatment effects would benefit from evaluating the movement of the segments by methods other than measurements of casts.