Investigation of the correlation of midpalatal suture maturation stage with chronological age and cervical vertebral maturation stage

Objectives: The first aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between chronological age, cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stage, and midpalatal suture (MPS) maturation stage. The second aim was to assess the relationship between the prognosis for rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and age, CVM stage, and MPS maturation stage. Material and Methods: We divided 109 participants into three age groups: <15 years, 15–25 years, and >25 years. The participants had undergone both cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and lateral cephalometric X-ray examination. Their MPS maturation stage was classified as A to E and CVM stage as cervical stage 1 (CS1) to CS6, according to a previously proposed method. We used the weighted kappa coefficient to assess intra-examiner agreement and Spearman’s correlation coefficient, to evaluate the correlations of MPS maturation stage with age and CVM stage. Results: The weighted kappa coefficients were 0.849 and 0.923 for the identification of MPS maturation stage and CVM stage, respectively. There were significant, but weak correlations between MPS maturation stage and age ( r = 0.313, P = 0.001) and, CVM stage ( r = 0.287, P = 0.002). MPS stage C was the most prevalent across all age groups and all CVM stages. Conclusion: Chronological age and CVM stage may not accurately predict MPS maturation stage, especially in older patients. Further, the prognosis for RME may not be strongly related to either CVM or MPS maturation stage. We recommend using CBCT X-rays for individual MPS assessments before selecting the type of maxillary expansion treatment.