I believe many a keen eye can spot someone who has had traditional orthodontic from a mile away.

There is a typical braces look – almost as though something is awry in the structural composition of the face and jaw.

Often people look as though their mouth is “bashed in” instead of in balance with the rest of their face and head. That is because some orthodontists move teeth around without considering the relationship of the jaw to the surrounding cranial system. If you stop to think about it, your common sense will tell you that you cannot change the shape of your mouth without affecting the rest of your head.

Unfortunately not all orthodontists are trained to think this way. A lot of orthodontic treatment is done without regard to the rest of the head and face, with terrible results. For example, it is common practice to move “buck” teeth, (what is commonly referred as “riders”), back to correct the bite. But the problem with buck teeth is usually not that they stick out too far – it is the problem that the jaw does not extend out far enough. Proper whole body dental treatment calls for the jaw to be brought forward into balance with the whole structure of the head.

Usually extraction of the bicuspids is done to give room to allow the upper front teeth to be drawn back. The bicuspids are the teeth just behind the eye teeth. When I began seeing a lot of patients who complain of pain in their jaw sockets, I noticed that many of them had their bicuspids removed at an early age. There are numerous disadvantages and problems associated with this: the first and foremost is a functional change in the temporomandibular joint apparatus (TMD). I firmly believe that orthodontics and bicuspid removal greatly contribute to the onset of TMD. Furthermore, the aesthetic result is usually less than desirable.
Few orthodontists are aware of the many implications involved in moving teeth. It is not enough to have the teeth line up nicely and look right. Their positioning has to be in harmony with the musculature and the temporo-mandibular joint. Often teeth are moved without consideration for the muscle balance, cranial alignment and the temporomandibular joint.
This is a dangerous practice since all joints of the head must be in harmonious relationship with one another for optimal health. The entire craniosacral system can be tremendously impacted by even a slight alteration in the positioning of the teeth.
I began studying functional orthodontics because I wanted my patients to have a higher standard of care that was available with traditional orthodontics. At a seminar I attended last October in Texas, USA, Dr. John Witzig presented a remarkable case study dramatically illustrating the disruptive effects of orthodontia. He showed us pictures of identical twins born in England. When they were teenagers, the parents took the twins to a public dentist under the socialised medical system, who recommended extracting the first bicuspids and fitting appliances for both children. They proceeded with one twin, but then had reservations and took the second twin to a private dentist who fitted appliances without extractions.
Dr. Witzig then displayed pictures of the sisters as adults several years after the procedures had been completed. When those photos went up, the audience literally gasped. The two sisters were no longer identical. The difference in their facial structure were striking. One sister had a beautiful broad smile and full balanced facial development. The other sister had a very narrow face and tight, unpleasant smile. Of course, you can guess that the sister with the unattractive facial features was the unfortunate twin who had her bicuspids removed.
I cannot overstate the importance of the teeth in terms of proper bone development in the face and jaw. With traditional orthodontics, frequently teeth are extracted to make more room and then pressure is applied to move the remaining teeth around until they created proper bite and look straight. Unfortunately, very little attention is given to the effect of the procedure on the overall bone structure and musculature, and often the appearance.
However, there are some orthodontists who practice what is now being termed “functional orthodontics”. In the above example, a functional orthodontist would evaluate the entire structure of the head, the relationship of the teeth to the jaw and other facial bones, and then fit an appliance that would stimulate growth and encourage teeth to realign themselves in proper relationship to the rest of the head and muscles. The entire mode of treatment, including the physical structure of the actual appliances, is different. Because a harmony is achieved between the muscles, and lip and tongue pressure, the chance of a relapse is greatly diminished.

Dr. BERTRAND R. STUART, DDS

Often people look as though their mouth is “bashed in” instead of in balance with the rest of their face and head. That is because some orthodontists move teeth around without considering the relationship of the jaw to the surrounding cranial system.