Race to the bottom

We live in an age when we endlessly talk about evidence-based practice, but are constantly being bombarded by new, untested techniques supported by charismatic KOLs. So, how do we guard against being seduced by all this ‘fool's gold’?

In the UK, we are fortunate because our orthodontic postgraduate programme incorporates a masters thesis that includes a research component. By completing this, our trainees will learn the fundamentals of research methodology and critical appraisal. This will go some way in preparing them for a world in which innovation and treatment is primarily being driven by finance and marketing. They will certainly be better placed to sort out the ‘wheat from the chaff’ when it comes to the claims made about the latest and best techniques. This will not only keep them grounded and healthily cynical, but will also protect our patients in a world of DIY orthodontics

Why then, when everything is sorted out, and we have an orthodontic training programme that has taken decades to refine, and is now the envy of many European countries as well as the USA, and is considered to be as good as any and better than most, are we doing our damndest to wreck it?