Responding to the interview with Mr Mike Mew in the Guardian on 17 May, Prof Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
"We will be contacting the Guardian to thank them for highlighting the dangers of “orthotropics” and the need for those with dental problems to contact a suitably qualified orthodontist for advice and treatment.
"The article clearly points out that “orthotropics” is a form of modern-day quackery, with the many claims made by its proponents having no basis whatsoever in rigorously and tested scientific fact.
"There is no scientific evidence to suggest patients can change the shape of their face, improve their intelligence or lengthen their life by altering their mouth posture. Misaligned jaws are not the main cause sleep apnoea which has many causes; malocclusion derives from a complex interplay of genetics, bone growth and muscle development and there is no such thing as “craniofacial dystrophy”. As demonstrated by the disdain Mr Mew shows towards his patients, he is wrong on all these accounts.
"We will however ask that the article be amended to change its description of Dr. Mew as an orthodontist. As someone who has been struck off by the UK General Dental Council and has subsequently appealed; along with a general disdain for the orthodontic “establishment”, it is ironic that this term has been used. Indeed, many of the appliances that are used within “orthotropics” were primarily devised within the conventional orthodontic community. More worryingly, we think the use of this title may be misleading and may unwittingly give credibility to Mr. Mew’s pseudo-science.
"The correct treatment for treatment of misaligned teeth, bite problems and facial disharmony is conventional orthodontic treatment. Fixed orthodontic appliances, aligners, functional appliances, extractions in specific cases and where there is facial disharmony that cannot be addressed by orthodontic treatment alone, jaw surgery carried out by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. In all cases, patients can be reassured that specialist orthodontists providing care have been rigorously trained to the highest possible standards."