A Computerized Photographic Method to Evaluate Changes in Head Posture and Scapular Position Following Rapid Palatal Expansion: A Pilot Study

Objective: to assess the applicability of a computerized method to measure on digital photographs the changes in head and scapular posture following rapid palatal expansion (RPE) treatment. Study design: randomized controlled trial. Twenty-three children (age 9.27±0.88 years) diagnosed with maxillary constriction were randomly divided into two groups: 1. Study group (n=12): patients receiving RPE treatment; 2. Untreated controls (n=11). Postural measurements were taken on frontal, lateral, and dorsal views of each subject. In the study group measurements were taken at T0 (the day orthodontic records were taken), T1 (end of RPE active phase), and T2 (RPE removal). In controls the same observations were conducted at T0 and T1(98.18±36.01 days after T0). Measurements were statistically analyzed (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, t-tests, Signed Rank test, One-Way Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance, Tukey test; p<0.05). Results: In the study group a significant reduction in forward head posture (FHP) oc...