[Orthodontic therapy using removable and fixed appliances--a statement of position]

Even in the planning process of orthodontic therapy the primary question should not be directed to the type of appliance to be used. An outline of basic considerations is presented, the evaluation of which leads in a logical way to the choice of appliance and the appropriate procedure. No controversy can evolve between "removable" and "fixed" provided the orthodontist is capable in both sectors. In regard to fixed appliance, it can be stated that the technical limitations of the edgewise mechanism--designed by Angle almost 50 years ago, in the meantime modified and again supplemented by a variety of extraoral force systems--still exceed by far the biologically imposed limitations. The technical versatility of this mechanism could fulfill until now almost all of the changing demands of orthodontic therapy which derived from the continuously enlarging spectrum of knowledge.