Understanding Vaulted Palates

Understanding Vaulted Palates

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Have you ever wanted to learn more about vaulted palates and how to treat them? These cases can sometimes seem a little tricky to work out a treatment plan for, but there’s a lot you should know first – and today, we’re looking at the key things you should know to understand and tackle vaulted palates as part of your patient’s treatment plan.

What are Vaulted Palates?

First, it’s important to clarify what vaulted palates actually are. Vaulted palates occur when a patient’s palate is narrow and high, which can have implications on the growth of the patient’s face or airways (due to the tongue resting in the wrong position).

When Should RPE Palatal Expansion be Done?

You can consider some options to enhance the palate, but generally speaking, clear aligners will have a very limited impact in these cases. As such, if the patient wants Invisalign, you’ll need to start with palatal expansion to ensure that they get good results.

Always keep in mind, of course, that many parents or patients will be hesitant to spend more, so if a patient with vaulted palates comes in, you’ll need to explain the importance of including palatal expansion very clearly as part of the treatment plan so they understand why this is important, in the first place.

If you’re unsure about whether an orthodontics case requires palatal expansion, please don’t hesitate to contact our experts at Straight Smile Solutions for further support with your cases!