Re: Response from Dr Hsieh

The samples in this article were collected from all of the finished cases between 1998 and 2000. The treatment plans of these cases were designed by various part-time and full-time faculty members of the orthodontic department at the Indiana University. Not all of the faculty members at the Indiana University prefer either early or late treatment.

Regarding how early is early treatment, this topic is still in debate.

In my article, the opening statement “The recommendation for early treatment, however, is most frequently based on empirical judgment rather than evidence from sound clinical research.” was cited from reference 9: Ghafari J, King GJ, Tulloch JF. Early treatment of Class II, division 1 malocclusion–comparison of alternative treatment modalities. Clinical Orthodontics & Research. 1998;1(2):107–117. It was neither my belief nor bias before I did the research.