No man is an island (not even the orthodontist!)

The treatment path of TMJ disease may be considered as an example: the patient typically goes to the ear, nose and throat specialist, to the neurologist, to the dentist, and to the orthopaedic and the maxillofacial surgeon, yet nobody seems to be able to solve the problem. Why? Because the answer to the patient’s expectations may be found only when all of the specialists collaborate in the diagnosis and treatment.

Even in orthodontics, we must start to consider this approach as the winning one and learn from Eastern medicine to consider the person as a whole. For example, it has now been widely demonstrated that problems with the masticatory apparatus can have a strong correlation with posture, and this must be kept in mind both in the observation of the patient and in establishing the right treatment plan. Respiratory problems, if not eliminated, can also be a cause of failure, even when our orthodontic treatment is performed with great skill. Furthermore, we are often aware, especially in the adult patient, that there is a need for psychological support that we are not able to fulfil. Sometimes, it is also necessary to involve a speech therapist for a successful treatment outcome.

We should thus seek to leave the comfort zone of our orthodontic space to collaborate with our medical peers to seek out treatment solutions with them. This is the only way to build the orthodontics of the third millennium.

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