In children, the suture running down the center of the palate is still open, letting a traditional palatal expander gradually widen the upper jaw with steady pressure from a tooth-anchored appliance. By the late teens or early twenties, that suture has fused, and the same tooth-anchored approach mostly tips and tilts teeth instead of genuinely widening the bone underneath in an adult.

MARPE (Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion) exists specifically to work around that limitation.

What sets MARPE apart from traditional expansion:

• Anchoring method: MARPE uses 4 to 6 small titanium miniscrews placed into the palatal bone itself, in addition to the standard tooth attachment, transferring force directly to bone rather than relying on teeth alone.
• Result: because force reaches the fused suture more directly, MARPE can achieve genuine skeletal expansion in adults — something tooth-borne expanders generally can’t accomplish reliably.
• Placement: completed in-office, well-tolerated, with a short healing period before activation begins.
• Activation: the patient turns the appliance a set amount daily over several weeks, according to the treatment plan.

Who’s typically a candidate: adults with a narrow upper jaw, nasal breathing difficulty or mild sleep apnea tied to airway constriction, significant crowding without adequate arch width, or anyone hoping to avoid an extraction-based orthodontic plan. A CBCT scan (3D imaging) beforehand confirms suture fusion pattern and bone thickness, since MARPE isn’t right for every adult skeletal pattern.

What it isn’t: a stand-alone sleep apnea cure, or a replacement for finishing orthodontic work on the teeth — most patients still need braces or aligners afterward to bring teeth into the newly available space.

Dr. Zitterkopf evaluates adult candidacy for MARPE using 3D imaging and a complete bite and airway assessment at our Falcon office. If you were told your options were limited because you’d “stopped growing,” it’s worth a second look — adult palatal expansion is more available than most people realize. Schedule a consultation to find out where you stand.