Sir, in 1965 I supported Jack Alexander, Hans Eirew and Bill Frankland in forming the British Association of Orthodontists which was open to all orthodontists and dentists with an interest in the subject, and mainly through their efforts it quickly became the largest UK orthodontic body. Over the years many specialist orthodontists joined the association and in 1971 full membership became restricted to those with a specialist diploma or degree, the remaining dental members being excluded from voting. In 1994 the Association combined with four smaller organisations to become the British Orthodontic Society. At that time the largest group within the membership were general dentists but they were denied voting powers. In 1998 the General Dental Council created specialist registration and initially no general dentists were allowed to claim any expertise in orthodontics even if they had been practising it exclusively for many years.

The increasing use of systems such as Invisalign and the current popularity of 'six month smiles' has inspired a new generation of dentists who wish to know about alternative techniques. I mention this because they have founded a new organisation, the European Society of Aesthetic Orthodontics, quite independently of any of the current orthodontic groups. What has amazed me is that now, as in 1965, there has been a huge demand for membership of this new group. Their inaugural meeting, on 14 December, was oversubscribed to such an extent that it had to find larger premises on three occasions and that was two months before it took place. This could signal the demand for wider debate and I am sure that many readers of the BDJ would like to be involved. Past history has much to warn us about the future.

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