EXPANDING ENVELOP OF DISCREPANCY

Time is a crucial factor in Orthodontics which presents us with 2 pertinent questions, timing of treatment and time taken for treatment. While the duration of Orthodontic treatment is of concern to both the patient as well as the orthodontist, treatment timing is of paramount importance to the orthodontist as the success of orthodontic therapy, especially in individuals who present to us during the growth period, is dictated by appropriate treatment timing.The one phase vs two phase debate is an evergreen one among orthodontists with several generations of orthodontists recommending early treatment ever since functional jaw orthopedics saw the light of day. However, the paradigm shifted in the late 90s after revered orthodontists such as Tulloch and Proffit et al1, Keeling and Wheeler2 et al, Gianelly3 at al., with their prospective clinical trials presented robust data that the results of early orthodontic treatment although positive,do not stay on. They arrived at a conclusion that the inherent growth pattern and genetic potential of the patients causes the residual growth to nullify the treatment effects of phase 1 therapy, by the time comprehensive phase 2 orthodontic treatment is completed.