Does Orthodontics Damage Faces?

From Volume 28, Issue 2, March 2001 | Pages 98-104

Authors

A.T. DiBiase

BDS(Hons), MSc, FDS RCS, MOrth

Senior Registrar, Department of Orthodontics and Restorative Dentistry, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester

Articles by A.T. DiBiase

P.J. Sandler

BDS(Hons), MSc, FDS RCPS, MOrth RCS

Consultant Orthodontist, Royal Hospital, Chesterfield

Articles by P.J. Sandler

Abstract

With the increasing provision of orthodontic care in this country, certain practitioners have raised concerns regarding the use of elective extractions and retraction mechanics, especially the effects on the facial profile and the TMJ. The non-extraction versus extraction debate spans the history of orthodontics, and the concepts of facial attractiveness are subject to change as fashions change. Within the realms of evidence-based practice, there is little or no evidence to suggest that the philosophies and mechanics of contemporary orthodontics, in the vast majority of cases, cause damage to the profile or are directly linked to the development of TMJ dysfunction.

Article