Sir, with regard to John and Mike Mew's recent letters,1,2 and Stephen Rudge's reply,3 I would like to congratulate the BDJ for not publishing John's article. John has been beating a very old drum and we should not have to listen to his tune and have him insult our intelligence.

Treating 12 mm overjets on a non-extraction basis with functional appliances is bread and butter to me and most orthodontists. I do this under the NHS regulations and fee structures. I wrote a series of letters in the late 1980s in Dental Update regarding this. John has managed to build up a clique of followers and even set up his own 'school'.

To add to the list presented by Stephen, when I was in the hospital services, Bob Lee and the late David DiBiase offered John the facilities and expertise of the London and Southend Hospitals to prove his theories scientifically. John declined a number of times. We live in an age of evidence-based dentistry and we can't follow his mantra of 'do it my way or you will wreck faces'.

John, you are an intelligent man. After all these years you have to stop dragging out the odd case and put your theory to the test the proper way – or not at all.