Personalized Orthodontics, The Future of Genetics in Practice

“Personalized medicine” is a new buzz phrase, based initially on pharmacogenetics and now exploding as genome-wide association studies are undertaken. However, it still remains to be seen how much this will really affect daily practice. The same may be projected for the future of orthodontics. What would personalized orthodontics be based on, how would the studies be undertaken and then validated in practice? How will this be funded? The understanding of the combination and interaction of genetic and environmental (including treatment) factors (nature and nurture together) that influence the treatment response of our patients is fundamental to the evidence-based practice of orthodontics.