ORTHODONTHIC MYTHS AND FACTS

All medical professionals, including Specialists of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, strive to base their practice on evidence. However, obtaining adequate evidence is not always easy, especially when it comes to orthodontic treatment modalities. Firstly, we cannot give our patients the placebo. Secondly, as much as we know about growth, development, and aging, there is no certain way to predict the response to treatment or no treatment. Therefore, many times we lack what is considered good-quality research. For a long time, Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses have been on the top of the hierarchy of scientific evidence. Most clinicians like them since they are easy to understand and interpret. Nevertheless, they are often based on retrospective or cross-sectional studies that can be flawed for numerous reasons, including patient selection bias. By summarizing and presenting the evidence from currently available literature, this lecture will try to bring more light to present-day orthodontics discussions and dilemmas, like the connection between orthodontic treatment and the airway, class II correction, use of CBCT in orthodontic diagnostics, maxillary expansion, aligner treatment, distalization, etc. Key Words: Orthodontic myths, Orthodontic facts, Airway, Class II, Aligners, CBCT