06/19/2024
I am posting this message for the owner of this page as he was unaware he even this Buisness page. I received a message from FB on behalf of this page because whoever set it up connected it to my personal FB page. I myself have been in the orthodontic arena for over 35 years. I have traveled with Dr.Dierkes when he was on the lecture circuit for many years teaching other orthodontics how and when a dentist should refer children to an orthodontist for an evaluation. Dr. Dierkes was instrumental in teaching orthodontist how airway affects the growth and facial development . He was also instrumental in being the first orthodontist in the Atlanta area to introduce palatal expansion, early treatment ( starting at age 7) and how airway effect the growth and development of the jaw, as well as non-extraction treatment to students attending Emory University Orthodontic department in the late 70’s. No my knowledge there were not any orthodontist in the Atlanta area practicing orthodontics who incorporated any of the above treatments in their practice. In fact he was ridiculed by many of the top orthodontist in the area for teaching any of the concepts above. Even a good friend who was a graduate of Harvard University who said to me “ what is the expansion crap , it will never work”! There are many post showing up on this page that I know he would be horrified by. Sometimes I will share them with him
and he will just shake his head. There are many post that are offering advice on how they would treat cases presented in the post. Some cases are posted by parents, some by adults, dentist, myofunctional therapists, all of which are not University trained certified myofunctional orthodontist. It is I who will post comments advising those seeking orthodontic advice to always obtain advice from a University trained orthodontist. It is I who will chastise general dentist, myofunctional therapists, or anyone who is not a certified orthodontist, giving advise on what the best treatment would be for the individual seeking orthodontic advise. Just as a plastic surgeon would if he saw a GP, PT, or orthopedic surgeon giving advise on how to do a facelift! I also warn those who are not certified orthodontist that practicing orthodontics without a license including giving advice, is a dangerous avenue to go down especially when they do not have all the diagnostic information or experience as a certified orthodontist. I personally feel it is wrong for any general dentist to practice orthodontics including expansion. A general dentist did not attend the additional 3-4 years required to become an orthodontist after earning their dental degree. I do not understand how a general dentist or pediatric dentist can take a few week long or weekend courses on orthodontic treatment qualifies them to practice orthodontics.
I feel very strongly about the subject because in my 35 years (especially the last 10 years) have seen many cases treated by general dentist or pediatric dentist that should never have happened. Because many of the patients should have had a different treatment plan and because the patient could have benefited greatly with other forms of orthodontic treatment. Because I have witnessed what can happen when a non-licensed orthodontist treating a case especially extracting the 4 bicuspids verses expanding the upper and lower jaw, uses of a pull forward appliance, taking into consideration the airway, the position of the TMJ, or telling a parent to wait on orthodontic treatment until all the permanent teeth are in before starting orthodontic treatment , just to name a few. Now as far as a myofunctional therapist, we use a great deal of MFT and they can be very knowledgeable however again, they are not orthodontist and should remember that before advising an individual on what type of treatment would be best for their child. They are not exempt from malpractice. I am also not fond of aligners because no matter what they teach in their lectures when promoting their product, aligners do not take the place and I have yet to see aligners do the same if not more, than traditional braces. I have also seen aligner cases that actually caused displacement of the TMJ. The aligner cases we have seen for TMD all told their dentist or orthodontist that they did not have the issue until they started aligner treatment. We are also told by these patients that the dentist or orthodontist never took any images of the TMJ before or even after treatment. We have had to treat the patient for TMD and redo their orthodontic treatment costing as much as 15-17,000 in additional treatment. For that reason we do imaging of the TMJ before treatment on all our orthodontic patients even children. We also evaluate a patient’s airway through imaging before treatment. If there are large turbinates we refer them to an ENT before treatment because in order for the orthodontic treatment to be successful, the airway must be addressed. We also examine patients for a tongue tie because it will also influence orthodontic treatment. I can bet that the general dentist and pediatric dentist, even orthodontist who are practicing orthodontics does not address these issues and then wonder why the orthopedic treatment isn’t going so well. I personally have been imaging the TMJ for dentist and orthodontist for 37 years. I ran the only TMJ imaging lab in Atlanta during the 80’s ordered by dentist and orthodontist who were aware of TMD. I have personally witnessed firsthand the suffering patients endure from TMD. Dr. Dierkes has been diagnosing and treating TMD since the 80’s. I have had the pleasure of working with him since 1989 and have seen 1000’s of TMJ dislocations some occured during orthodontic treatment especially those who have had their 4 bicuspids removed which caused and even greater collapse of an already narrow arch. All that being said, because I have been so vocal about all the issues I have addressed, one or more of you have reported this page as bullying, copywright infringement, and a few more. I can assure you that any copyright postings ( if any) did not happen, in fact a great deal of Dr. Dierkes papers, treatment reports, research papers , etc. that Dr. Dierkes wrote have been stolen by others and used as their own. My opinion is just that, my opinion, and is not meant to bully anyone. Recently our national news has been reporting on our “rights to freedom of speech”and how we are all being silenced by those who do not like what we have to say especially social media. It is a shame that those of us who are trying to protect others from harm, are being silenced by those whose bottom line may be effected or their choice to practice orthodontics without a license by my choice to warn people and professionals of the consequences.
E.F.D
