TMJ 'dysfunction' - Health implications

The esteemed Professor John Mew says:

"There is little consensus amongst orthodontists on either the cause or cure of malocclusion. Despite this a relatively uniform type of treatment has developed in many parts of the world, involving the extraction of some teeth, followed by fixed mechanics to align the remainder. This mix has some unfortunate side-effects and a tendency to relapse in the long-term. It has also been severely criticized by world-renowned scientists, such as Lisle Johnston, because it is “At bottom largely an empirical process that is little influenced by theory inferred from any of the life sciences”.

In 1981 and 2004 Professor Mew published a new hypothesis for the aetiology of malocclusion suggesting it was primarily due to increased vertical growth precipitated by current life styles and can be cured by correcting oral posture. If this hypothesis is correct, and it has never been seriously challenged on scientific grounds, then it calls in to question the basis on which most orthodox treatment is conducted. Despite this a relatively uniform type of treatment has developed in many parts of the world, involving the extraction of some teeth, followed by fixed mechanics to align the remainder. This mix has some unfortunate side-effects and a tendency to relapse in the long-term."

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