Patient discomfort during and after surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion under local anaesthesia

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) could be performed under local anaesthesia and to understand the patient discomfort associated with this protocol. Patient discomfort was compared during and after 2 different types of oral surgical treatments in the same patients. Odontectomies for impacted lower third molar (control) were compared with SARME procedures (test) that were also performed under local anaesthesia. A visual analogic scale was used for each patient to quantify his or her discomfort before and after surgery. A total of 47 patients required 1 of these surgeries and were enrolled in this study. No statistically differences (P>0.05) were observed between the control and test groups. The results of this study suggest that SARME can be safely performed under local anesthesia because the intra-and postoperative discomfort levels were similar to those of other procedures that are typically performed under local anesthesia.