Controversial Topics in Orthodontics: Can We Reach Consensus?

Abstract

At the end of February 2020, we were preparing to attend the 47th Moyers Symposium in Ann Arbor, Michigan with great excitement. This famous international meeting has been held every year on the campus of the University of Michigan and brings together researchers, clinicians, teachers and residents from around the world. It offers this unique opportunity to network with colleagues and friends in a wonderful academic setting. This past year, the symposium focused on controversies in Orthodontics and the emergence of a consensus. It was such a timely topic for our specialty! New treatment modalities were entering the practice of orthodontics and the very way we practiced our specialty was being challenged by a “do it yourself” approach to treatment. Superb presentations discussed novel and challenging topics for two and a half days during the pre-symposium, giving the audience a sense for the new and the controversies in Orthodontics. New technologies were used to explore the TMD challenge and new appliance designs to treat Class II and Class III applied the principles of old, perhaps forgotten appliances to the demands of the modern patients. The expansion of the maxilla was discussed at length with the introduction of new treatment modalities. The importance of biomechanics as it applies to clear aligners and the principles of accelerated tooth movement were debated. An insightful discussion of the emergence of new trends in practice, took place. Researchers demonstrated that augmented reality and artificial intelligence were entering our specialty and could profoundly impact our future teaching, research and treatment delivery. We left snow covered Ann Arbor, recharged and refocused after a stimulating exchange of ideas and opinions. The symposium concluded on March 1, 2020 and little did we know about the challenges that laid ahead of us. Rumors of a virus circulating in the Wuhan province of China appeared in the news, followed by the devastation that it left behind. The wave of infections was already reaching Europe and Italy was hit hard. By March 11, 2020 this outbreak of a novel Corona virus was labelled a pandemic, a word that the world had forgotten since the flu outbreak of 1918. Within days, the world and the United States started to shut down to face the unknown. We emerged 10 weeks later and we have been wrestling with the controversies in the information available and the need for a consensus. We have learned from the experiences and experiments of other countries, but in the final analysis, science prevails and science will win. Controversies will always exist in the field of Orthodontics as they have in the past. Some disappear and some find a second life and resurface. In the end, as providers of care and professionals, we need to examine the data and not settle for empirical evidence. Looking to the future, it is critical that we continue to stay focused on the science that is the foundation of our specialty and the Moyer’s symposium is certainly the place where ideas are discussed and science is presented as a basis to better the clinical practice of orthodontics. The 47th Annual Moyers Symposium and the 45th Annual International Conference on Craniofacial Research (Presymposium) were held at the University of Michigan on Friday, vii February 28, 2020 through Sunday, March 1, 2020. This meeting was sponsored by the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan. The proceeding of this annual meeting is memorialized in the 57th volume of the Craniofacial Growth Series and contains reports, original research, case series and review articles from internationally renowned experts, scientists and clinicians. The 57th volume and the entire Craniofacial Growth Series is made available to the public through the University of Michigan Deep Blue Repository https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/146667. As in previous years, the Symposium honored the late Dr. Robert Moyers, Professor Emeritus of Dentistry and Fellow Emeritus and Founding Director of the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan. We thank Michelle Jones of the Office of Continuing Dental Education for coordinating and managing the Presymposium and the Symposium. We also thank Dawn Bielawski for her invaluable work as Copy Editor and Lea Sarment for verifying all citations and references. We acknowledge Dr. Nan Hatch, the Chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry for her support of the meeting and this publication. Finally, we thank the speakers and participants of the Symposium and the Presymposium and appreciate their attendance and support throughout the 47 years of history of the meeting. Bhavna Shroff Guest Editor