Dental Orthodontic Appliances Half Open Activator with Screw

One may wonder why all orthodontic practitioners do not treat all patients with Functional Orthodontic treatments.

It is because currently there are two schools of thoughts.

One school teaches that abnormal facial and dental features are caused by genetics.

These practitioners feel that the facial skeletal structures are genetically determined and therefore cannot be changed.

The other school teaches that abnormal facial and dental features are caused by environmental factors.

Since environmental factors, and not genetics, caused the abnormal facial and dental growth, then the facial-skeletal structures can be changed to a more ideal and harmonious shape and position.

Many patients seek orthodontic treatment because of crowding and crooked teeth. Oftentimes, the teeth are crowded because the mouth is narrow.

Those practitioners that believe that the mouth is narrow due to genetics and believe that the shape of the mouth cannot be changed will often extract 4 teeth, usually four premolars to make room for the crowded teeth.

This is called ‘’traditional 4 bicuspid extraction techniques.’’ Those practitioners that believe environmental factors caused the mouth to become narrow will use expansion appliances to widen the mouth.

When the mouth is widened, space is gained and the teeth then can be aligned. This is called “non-extraction , functional appliance technique.”