What Is MARPE? A Parent’s Guide to Palate Expansion Without Surgery

For decades, orthodontists have used palate expanders to help kids widen their upper jaws. Those traditional expanders work beautifully for growing children because the bones are still flexible—they move both the teeth and the bone as the jaw develops.

But until recently, that kind of expansion just wasn’t possible once growth slowed down. After the mid-palatal suture (the seam in the roof of the mouth) fused in the teenage years, the only way to get true skeletal expansion was through surgery.

That’s where MARPE comes in. It’s a newer, non-surgical palate expansion technique that allows us to move and develop the bones of the upper jaw—and even the midface—in ways we simply couldn’t before.

Hi, I’m Dr. Jeremy Manuele, Board Certified Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedist, and I’m glad you’re here. Let’s break down what MARPE is, how it works, and why it’s becoming one of the most exciting tools in modern orthodontics—especially for teens and adults who need jaw development without surgery.

What Is MARPE?

MARPE stands for Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion.

It’s a type of palate expander that uses tiny, temporary anchors—called TADs (Temporary Anchorage Devices) or miniscrews—to gently separate and widen the upper jaw at the midline, where the two halves of the maxilla meet.

Traditional expanders use the teeth for anchorage. This means the force of expansion gets transferred *through* the teeth, sometimes causing them to tip or move outward.

MARPE, on the other hand, attaches directly to the bone itself through those mini anchors. That makes it a bone-borne expander. This approach is stronger, more stable, and able to create true skeletal change, not just dental movement, even after growth has stopped.

Why Is MARPE Used?

The upper jaw, or maxilla, doesn’t always grow wide enough in proportion to the lower jaw. When that happens, you might notice:

Crowding or overlapping teeth
A narrow smile
Crossbites (where the top teeth fit inside the bottom teeth)
Mouth breathing or snoring
A high, narrow palate

In the past, once a patient’s mid-palatal suture had fused—usually in the mid-to-late teens—the only way to expand the upper jaw was with surgical assistance. That’s where MARPE orthodontics changed the game. By using small skeletal anchors, we can often achieve significant expansion without surgery, even in older teens and young adults.

How Does MARPE Work?

Imagine the upper jaw as two puzzle pieces that meet in the middle. Over time, that seam (the suture) becomes more rigid, like glue hardening between those pieces. MARPE works by applying gentle, direct force across that joint, encouraging the bone to remodel and widen.

Each day, the patient (or parent) turns a small key to activate the expander. Each turn equals a fraction of a millimeter, and over a few weeks, this adds up to several millimeters of true skeletal expansion.

Because it’s anchored to the bone, MARPE can move the entire maxilla more predictably and evenly, minimizing the side effects seen with older, tooth-borne expanders. Advanced digital planning, including 3D imaging and CBCT scans, helps us position the device precisely where the bone is strongest.

How MARPE Helps with Breathing and Airway Health

This is one of the most important—and often overlooked—benefits. When the upper jaw is narrow, it’s not just the smile that’s affected. The nasal cavity sits right above the palate.

When we expand the palate, we also expand the nasal floor. That means more space for air to move through the nose.

This isn't just theory; it's well-documented. Multiple studies, including those in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, have used 3D imaging to confirm that MARPE can:

Increase nasal volume (making it easier to breathe through the nose)
Reduce nasal airway resistance
Improve airflow symmetry between the two nostrils
Potentially decrease snoring and mouth breathing

Better nasal breathing can support better oxygenation, improved sleep quality, and even improved focus and growth in children. It’s not an exaggeration to say that airway-focused orthodontics can change a patient's life trajectory.

How MARPE Improves Smile Aesthetics

When the jaw is too narrow, the smile can look constricted—like only the front six teeth show when someone smiles. After expansion, the smile becomes naturally broader and fuller, filling the corners of the mouth and enhancing facial balance.

In adults, this kind of subtle skeletal change can even improve facial proportions by supporting the midface and lips. This helps the face appear more balanced and youthful—like giving the face its natural scaffolding back.

Is MARPE Right for My Child (or Me)?

That depends on a few key factors:

Age and stage of growth
How fused the mid-palatal suture is
The degree of jaw or airway deficiency
The goals of treatment (expansion, bite correction, airway improvement, or all of the above)

In many growing patients, traditional expanders still work beautifully. But for older teens or young adults who have "aged out" of standard expansion, MARPE gives us a second chance to develop the upper jaw without needing to go to the operating room.

What Parents Love About MARPE

Parents often tell me the same things after their child's treatment:

“My child sleeps better and snores less.”
“They have more energy in the morning.”
“Their smile looks wider and more confident.”

Those are powerful transformations. They come from improving the foundation of the face and airway, not just straightening teeth.

The Bottom Line

MARPE orthodontics is one of the biggest innovations in modern orthodontic care. It’s a non-surgical palate expansion technique that can improve breathing, balance facial proportions, and create more stable, lasting smiles—all without the invasiveness of surgery.

If you’re in the Las Vegas area and wondering whether MARPE might help you or your child, we can help. At Hamilton & Manuele Orthodontics, we use 3D scans to measure airway and jaw dimensions and give you an honest, clear answer about what’s possible.

Works Cited

Brunetto, M., et al. "Three-dimensional Nasal Cavity and Pharyngeal Airway Changes after Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE)." The Angle Orthodontist, vol. 87, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp. 245–53. Angle.org, doi:10.2319/060116-434.1.

Cantarella, Daniele, et al. "Midfacial and Upper Airway Changes after Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion in Young Adults: A Three-Dimensional Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Study." American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, vol. 152, no. 1, July 2017, pp. 108–21. AJODO.org, doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2016.12.015.

Lee, K. J., et al. "Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE): The Quest for Pure Orthopedic Expansion." Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics, vol. 20, no. 4, Aug. 2015, pp. 17–23. SciELO.br, doi:10.1590/2176-9451.20.4.017-023.oin.