Abstract: Objective: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of maxillary skeletal expanders in the management of maxillary transverse deficiency (MTD). Methods: A total of 24 patients who received treatment at Wuhan University Stomatological Hospital between 2019 and 2024 were enrolled. All subjects underwent microimplant-assisted maxillary skeletal expansion (MIA-MSE), and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data were acquired pre- and post-treatment to analyze dental and skeletal parameters. Duplicate measurements were performed by the same clinician, with interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) used to verify measurement consistency. Statistical analyses were conducted using paired samples t-test and other appropriate methods. Results: The overall success rate of expansion was 100%. Significant increases in alveolar bone width combined with buccal inclination were observed in the premolar and molar regions (P<0.05). For both maxillary and mandibular relevant teeth, increased horizontal spacing and buccal inclination were noted, with more pronounced buccal inclination of alveolar bone and teeth in the maxillary first molars. Several indicators exhibited statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion: Microimplant-assisted maxillary skeletal expansion achieves remarkable skeletal effects with a high success rate. It effectively expands the maxilla while exerting significant dental effects on both maxillary and mandibular dentition, with the maxillary first molar serving as a prominent anchor tooth.

Key words: microimplant-assisted maxillary skeletal expansion, maxillary transverse deficiency, therapeutic efficacy