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Our Profession Isn’t Doing What It Thinks It Is

There are a handful of people in dentistry such as Ben Miraglia today, who are attacking and destroying the very foundation of our traditional belief systems in dentistry – how people grow, develop and why. They are challenging the broadly taught belief that malocclusions are primarily genetically-driven outcomes, and that tooth size / arch dimension discrepancies (including a lack of room for wisdom teeth) are simply genetic mismatches that we need to live with or accommodate to.

Consider the possibility that many of the problems that our patients suffer from – are driven by inadequate airway dimensions to properly breath and are actually the symptoms of major developmental disorders, developmental disorders that our profession has unknowingly exacerbated in many cases in our pursuit to make teeth straight and pretty.

Such reductionistic thinking is becoming not only inadequate, but problematic for all of us. The time has finally arrived that we in dentistry can not longer think about dentistry as just being about teeth, periodontal health, and a superficial level of attractiveness. We must move forward to a new health centered paradigm which takes as much as possible into consideration when we suggest treatment. Because from what we now know, to do less is not only a disservice to our patients, but it may very well be dong them harm.

Paul A Henny, DDS