Thoughts on the future of orthodontic education and practice

Only by involvement and constructive planning for our specialty can we as a group influence dental education--specifically, orthodontic training--and the conditions for practice we will face in the future. The development of undergraduate orthodontic teaching has been slow. It is argued that it is a necessity, and in our best interest, that we formulate an innovative curricular standard for orthodontic instruction to be included in the strategic planning for the future dental educational program. Regarding advanced training, orthodontics as a specialty branch of dentistry would be at a disadvantage if the number of places in orthodontic specialty programs is significantly reduced. Rather, assuming the accuracy of predictions of future increased demands for orthodontic care under decent economic conditions, it is suggested that if we allow for a slow but steady increase in the number of orthodontic specialists, we are going to create reasonably sound circumstances for future orthodontic specialty practice.