Orthodontic considerations applied to craniofacial dysmorphology

The contemporary management of patients with craniofacial anomalies involves a team approach of multiple specialists. Interaction between the basic scientist, developmental biologist, and the clinician should be an important aspect of interdisciplinary research if clinically relevant questions are to be addressed under rigorous laboratory conditions. The clinical investigator may be unfamiliar with the terminology and methodology of basic biomedical research. As a result, there can be a lack of communication between the clinician and the basic scientist. The role of the orthodontist in a multidisciplinary craniofacial team has evolved largely from an interest in dysmorphology as applied to craniofacial growth and development. The predictability of orthognathic surgery has been derived from the close collaboration between the orthodontist and surgeon and may be applied to the more comprehensive management of patients with craniofacial anomalies. To determine the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis and response to treatment will require a collaborative approach by the clinician and research scientist to elucidate causal and putative risk factors in the complex genetic and environmental associations involved in craniofacial anomalies.