Evaluation of the midpalatal suture during rapid palatal expansion in children: a CT study.

The midpalatal suture of 18 children submitted to rapid palatal expansion with the Haas fixed expander and ranging in age from 5 years 2 months to 10 years 5 months was evaluated with computerized tomography. The posterior nasal spine undergoes the impact of RPE in patients in the primary and mixed dentition stages, similarly to the anterior nasal spine though to a lesser extent. The average opening of the midpalatal suture was 2.21 mm in the anterior nasal spine region and 0.95 mm in the posterior nasal spine region.