I can’t help feeling that many young orthodontists often find mixed dentition cases quite tricky. I think this is partly due to the fact that these patients are growing so it takes years to fully appreciate the process of dentition development, and partly because of the constant flow of unscientific and erroneous claims heated by the market.

I had spent almost four years after the residency working exclusively with children and teenagers, so I know this confusion first hand. It whittles down with experience… or with the help of a good book.

In this blog post, I want to look at one of my favourite reads on the subject, Orthodontic Management of the Developing Dentition: An Evidence Based Guide. According to my Amazon history, I ordered my copy in 2017, the same year it was published. It turned to be a pretty fast read. I’m sure it took no longer than a week and I do remember a feeling I had putting the book to the shelf: it was surprising that everything I learned throughout 3+ years the hard way – experimenting with appliances and gaining knowledge from various sources – can be structured and conveyed in a such сompact book. No doubt, there also were many things completely novel to me, especially in the area of research and statistical data.

The book is comprised from the articles of British orthodontists and edited by Prof. Martin Cobourne, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Orthodontics, the official journal of the British Orthodontic Society. It is well known that over the past decade UK specialists have contributed to a great number of clinically meaningful RCTs and systematic reviews. As a result, every statement made in the book has no lack in its scientific backing. In the same time, this doesn’t make the text less clinical – all the science crystallises into the laconic and practical guidelines. Furthermore, the good number of illustrations makes the information descriptive and digestible.

The gamut of topics includes tooth agenesis, supernumerary teeth, impaction, displaced canines, AP problems, etc. I can’t think of anything what is missed, neither can I think of a more concise way to tell what is covered. My appraisal may sound overpromising, but I truly think that this is an invaluable resource for a young orthodontist to cope with the uncertainty around the mixed dentition.

I also think that if this book is read by medical authorities of some post-Soviet countries, their governments may stop funding the indiscriminate prescription of expansion devices. Until then, the question of a famous British musician is still relevant: if the Russians love their children too?

You can buy your copy of the book clicking this link. Please note: this is an affiliate Amazon link. Small bonuses I have from this helps me to support Orthodontic Grammar project, whereas you pay just a regular price and not a dime more.