(Almost) ‘instant orthodontics’

The concept of the six month smile using orthodontic means first came to my attention a few years back when this, to me, seemed a great deal faster than the orthodontics that I once learnt. In the past year, the subject has been driven back into my thinking by the seemingly relentless rise in advertising for (almost) instant orthodontics, in which treatment is completed in six months or less. This seemed to be particularly acute at a dental meeting a few months back, when I counted more than thirteen stands offering training of varying duration, but often for two days or less. Most recently, I attended a lecture on the subject of (almost) instant orthodontics, with treatment being carried out in periods of six to sixteen weeks: it was bereft of references, and scientific information regarding the long-term stability of the treatment was absent. There was a mention of a positive audit of over 1500 cases carried out by the speaker, but no other details were provided. The only plus point that I could ascertain was that it appeared that teeth would be cut less in order to achieve a good cosmetic result. Most worrying to me was the statement that ‘the teeth were quite mobile at the end of treatment’.