FOR MEMBERS OF THE FUNCTIONAL ORTHODONTIC SUPPORT GROUP.

• To provide a support and advice service for those dentists practising Functional Orthodontics.
• To promote the pursuit of excellence and ethics and to address the need for co-operation amongst colleagues working in this field for the benefit of the profession and the welfare of patients.
• To promote a structured method for acceptable record-keeping.
• To provide protocols for initial records and informed consent.
• To research the literature and to record the appropriate studies.
• To provide access for members to these studies when requested.
• To work in close association with the British Society for the Study of Cranio-Mandibular Disorders (BSSCMD) on these aspects of diagnosis and protection.
• To provide an avenue for recourse against those who instigate unfounded accusations of professional treatment.
• To provide a support group for those who are so accused.
• To provide access to informed legal counsel.
• To provide where possible a register of those prepared to act as expert witnesses.
• To work in close liaison with and as an adjunct to the Dental Defence Union and Dental Protection.

DEFINITION OF FUNCTIONAL ORTHODONTICS:

Treatment which allows the facial bones and associated structures to develop to a balanced relationship.