Following the publication of John Mew's article in the BDJ on 22 Oct 2005, I attended a lively debate at Elland Road, Leeds, entitled 'Traditional Orthodontics Ruins Faces'. This argument was proposed by Mr John Mew and opposed by Mr Simon Littlewood (Consultant Orthodontist, St Luke's Hospital, Bradford).

I went along with an open mind having seen the charismatic Mr Mew present his arguments before. However, unlike on previous occasions Mr Mew's style and passion were more than matched by Mr Littlewood. In addition, Mr Littlewood produced overwhelming evidence to show that traditional orthodontics indeed does not ruin faces, moreover, in a vast majority of cases, it helps to improve them.

If Mr Mew believes that a tongue to palate resting posture with the mouth closed allows the teeth to align themselves, why do orthodontists spend three years training in their speciality? Mr Mew's arguments are confused and contradictory; his views are simply based on a neat hypothesis that has no clinical or scientific basis. He has been unable to produce any evidence to back up his ideas for the past 50 years.

It would be interesting to see what the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) would make of his 'beliefs'.