Dentofacial orthopedics and temporomandibular disorders (TMD): primum non nocere - Preface

The relations between dentofacial orthopedics and occlusodontics are an on-going subject of interest for practitionersofbothdisciplines.Thenumerous publications, including several previous special issues of the Revue d’ODF/ Journal of Dentofacial Anomalies and Orthodontics, that have been devoted to this topic over the last thirty years bear ample testimony to its importance. Temporomandibular disorders (TMD), that orthodontists encounter in their assessment of patients seeking treatment or in the course of treatment challenge them with the need to respond to three diagnostic and therapeutic objectives: – respond to the complaint of pain; – plan a treatment protocol adapted to the functional problem; – modulate or adapt their treatment plan to deal with the current array of symptoms and the possible ultimate appearance of structural modifications. Primum non nocere (First, do no harm). Do we really respect this aphorism from the master teacher of the school of Cos? DOI: 10.1051/odfen/2011201 J Dentofacial Anom Orthod 2011;14:202 RODF / EDP Sciences