Sir, I was disappointed to read the letter by J. Critchley titled Severe bilateral click (BDJ 2013; 214: 540) containing the pejorative statement 'As we often hear, her migraines began following the removal of all four first premolars and fixed orthodontics in her mid-teens'.

The reality is of course 'As we often hear, there is no evidence that extraction of first premolar teeth as part of orthodontic treatment results in TMD'. Silence is deafening.

1. Dundee