Evaluation of bone depth, cortical bone, and mucosa thickness of palatal posterior supra-alveolar insertion site for miniscrew placement

Abstract

Background: The use of palatal miniscrew offers the possibility to improve the effectiveness of orthodontic expansion devices. Palatal expanders supported by miniscrew can be applied with different clinical protocols. Some authors proposed the use of four palatal miniscrews during miniscrew-supported palatal expansion to maximize skeletal effects in young adults’ treatment. However, bone availability decreases in the posterior paramedian palatal regions, making the positioning of the two-posterior paramedian palatal miniscrews challenging, when it is performed avoiding nasal cavities invasion. Some authors proposed miniscrews insertion in a specific region located laterally to the palatal process of the maxillary bone, and apically relatively to the dento-alveolar process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bone thickness, cortical bone thickness, and mucosae depth of this anatomical site that, in this study, was defined as palatal posterior supra-alveolar insertion site. Results: The evaluation of bone availability of palatal posterior supra-alveolar insertion site at different antero-posterior levels showed that the maximum amount of total bone thickness was found between the second premolar and the first molar. At this level total bone, thickness is significantly (p