Extraordinary Letters to the Editor

I have read with interest the editorial ‘It beggars belief’,¹ and, as a postgraduate trainer and examiner for many years at the MOrth, I very firmly agree with the view that presentation of treated cases is an appropriate and highly valuable part of the examination of a potential specialist orthodontist.

Trainees are very aware that they will need a good pool of potentially well-treated and well-documented cases for presentation as part of MOrth. This has a continually positive effect on their treatment of every patient, and on their attitude to the provision of high-quality records and care to all patients. Subsequent selection and presentation of cases stimulates a deep exploration and consequent good understanding of what was done, and why. This process addresses a potential criticism that this is a small unrepresentative sample of their clinical work.

Another potential criticism is that a supervising teacher may have had substantial input to the treatment and write-up of the cases. But a good teacher will also have had substantial input into every other aspect of the candidate's MOrth preparation. Clinical teachers know that the standard of the presented cases will also be a direct reflection on their ability as a teacher, and their training course as a whole.