TOP TEN POSTS OF 2020.
As usual for this time of the year, I will close with a summary of our blogs activity and the top ten most popular posts.
Like everything this year, it has not been a typical year. However, we have continued to post nearly every week. During the first COVID lockdown we linked with the brilliant Dental Elf to provide information on PPE. I also took several seminars and lectures online, and I hope that this was helpful to people. The readership dropped significantly during the lockdowns as I think that we were all more concerned with COVID -19 than orthodontics. This year a total of 73 posts were read 495,000 times. While in 2019, 244 posts were read 537,000 times. This is also a reflection of stopping the translated posts which were not being read widely. So, we feel that it has still been a good year for this blog. Anyway here are the top 10 posts, starting with the most popular.
Do FFP3(N99) masks provide more protection in the dental surgery
I came across this very relevant rapid review about the use of masks in dentistry. The brilliant UK based Dental Elf published it. I thought that it might be helpful if I outlined their study in this short blog post. It was the most popular post of the year and reflected the concern around our patients’ management.
An excellent practice-based research paper on the effectiveness of Invisalign.
This was a fascinating study that was carried out in specialist practice. I thought that it added useful information to what is a research “black hole” about Invisalign.
We need to talk about myofunctional orthodontics.
This is an old post that I revisited. Occasionally, I go back to find posts that are worth recycling. I was also getting fed up of some nonsense that was being promoted about myofunctional orthodontics. I think that many readers felt the same, as this was a very popular post.
Do bonded retainers harm periodontal health?
The posts that are based on day to day clinical matters attract the most readers. During the year several teams published on retainers. These posts were widely read. This was the most popular, and it was a systematic review directed at identifying harm from retainers.
Let’s talk about the Carriere motion appliance.
This is a post from 2018, and it is still getting read by a substantial number of readers. This was my first post about this complicated and expensive method of applying Class II elastics. I am mystified by the “philosophy and magic” about this appliance. It is a bit embarrassing for our speciality.
Removal of two primary teeth per side: A new direction for ectopic canines.
I thought that the blog needed refreshing, and I asked Padhraig Fleming to be another editor for the blog. It was great that he agreed, as his style has undoubtedly added a new dimension. This was one of his first posts, and it was dealing with the treatment of ectopic canines.
Let’s have a first look at midfacial skeletal expansion (MSE)
MSE is a new technique that is gaining popularity. As a result, I decided to start having a look at it. This was my first post on this treatment, and I looked at a preliminary retrospective study. I would like to see a trial on this treatment. Perhaps one of the inventors would like to do one?
This is one of the first widely-read posts on my blog. I first published this in April 2016, and it is still a very popular post. It was my first, light-hearted, look at the phenomenon of FastBraces
Orthodontic Social Media Sites 2020
This is my yearly update on social media sites that I follow. Many people made comments that they found it useful.
Which closes space faster en-masse or two-step retraction?
This was an excellent clinical trial on a common clinical question that showed that en-masse retraction was better than two-stage retraction. I was a little critical about the study write up, but this is the ultimate responsibility of the Journal.
That’s about it for this year’s summary. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog and have a good holiday break (if you are taking one). We hope to have a good year next year, in many ways! Take care everyone.
Emeritus Professor of Orthodontics, University of Manchester, UK.
I hope that all orthodontists will have a healthy and happy new year first of all. And I would like to thank you for your wonderful reviews that guide to us as teachers of orthodontists.
Hi Kevin,
Congratulations on another successful year for your blog and thanks for continuing to provide this really interesting forum for discussion.
You say that the ‘readership dropped significantly during the lockdowns’, but assuming the 495,000 reads in 2020 were over the 73 posts i.e. 6,780 reads per post, this is significantly higher than the average read per post in 2019 (2,200).
Best wishes for 2021.