A rationale for expansion

Over the past 100 years, orthodontists have vacillated between extremes of nonextraction and extraction therapies. Injudicious selection of therapies despite facial dimensions has probably contributed to the major clinical disappointments within each style of therapy. The belief that expansion distal to the canines would not stabilize after the cessation of active treatment has contributed to the reluctance to use such therapy. However, experience has shown that this type of expansive, nonextraction therapy can have success without relapse and merits more attention from the specialty.