2025 Round up Orthodontics in Summary

ROUND UP 2025 – Orthodontics in Summary | Farooq Ahmed

This year, the podcast and blog have continued with regular podcasts and blogs, featuring more in-depth interviews and guest blogs, and, of course, with the help and support of our five regular contributors: Shanya Kapoor, AbdAllah Sharafeldin, Kerolos AlHakeem, James Andrews and Daniel Richmond.

Episodes | 291,000 hits

We produced 21 episodes this year, comprising 15 podcasts and 6 blogs. Podcast topics varied widely, including summaries of aligner overcorrection, impacted canines, remote monitoring, CBCT use in orthodontics, Ai, remote monitoring and retention.

Interviews have delved deeper into specific themes, with a series of guests exploring aligners, with Tommaso Castroflorio, Chris Laspos, Guy Deeming, and Vincenzo D’Anto all helped shape where aligners currently stand in clinical practice, while also navigating the large, and sometimes conflicting, body of literature.

An interview with Jean-Marc Retrouvey was revealing of what AI has to offer orthodontics, and the pace of change within the sector. Philippe Salah, CEO from DentalMonitoring, we discussed where remote monitoring could benefit clinical practice, and the emerging evidence around this technology.

However, I will be honest, the recent interview with Björn Ludwig, reflecting on his 20 years as a speaker in orthodontics, was the highlight of the year, a candid discussion of painful truths, mistakes made with good intent, and words of advice from one of the most self-critical, inspiring, and sage personalities in orthodontics.

Blogs

The blogs this year have had a variety of topics and guests, with blogs exploring surgery first, aligner trim-lines (by Shanya Kapoor) and a popular series of Space Analysis (by Daniel Richmond).  

Highlights | Farooq Ahmed

I had the pleasure of being featured in OrthoTown earlier this year, exploring ‘Across The Pond’ reflecting on the podcast and blog, teaching as well as the day-to-day boring stuff (of which there is plenty).

I have continued my role as Sub-Editor for the Journal of Orthodontics. While challenging at times, it is, as Björn Ludwig noted in our interview, a necessary role in maintaining orthodontic journals. My thanks go to the Editor-in-Chief, Jayne Harrison.

I had the distinct pleasure of recording an IPR module for the Aligner Intensive Fellowship, a course I attended in 2021 that fundamentally changed my understanding and clinical practice with aligners. thank you to Mazyar Moshiri and Jonathan Nicozisis for the opportunity.

Publications

This year, I was fortunate to publish in AJODO and twice in the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics (JCO), both long-standing career goals since starting orthodontic training. AJODO remains one of the highest-ranked scientific journals, while JCO is the clinical journal that has shaped my clinical practice the most.

Our small contributions looking at AI and diagnostic accuracy,

• Diagnostic accuracy of artificial intelligence for dental and occlusal parameters using standardized clinical photographs. Vaughan M, Mheissen S, Cobourne M, Ahmed F (2025)
• Treatment of an ankylosed impacted canine with surgical luxation and orthodontic traction. Honieh B, and Ahmed F. Journal of clinical orthodontics: JCO 59, no. 8 (2025): 532-536.
• Botulinum Toxin in Contemporary Orthodontic Practice. Hatami A, Ahmed F, Venugopal A: JCO 59, no. 11 (2025): 745-757.
• Across the Pond. Ahmed F. Orthotown. https://www.orthotown.com/magazine/article/9701/across-the-pond. (2025)

Courses

This year I have delivered new and old courses:

TAD-ODONTICS

This year, I developed a new course on TADs alongside my friend and talented colleague Aslam Alkadhimi. The course represents a summation of our learning, reading, and many mistakes made in the use of TADs.

The hands-on day was the most exciting to put together, how to show insertion, application and biomechanics. We started off with nothing more than a date in the diary, followed by lots of trailing different models and equipment, (I have enough to set up a shop of the rejects!).

We used my practice for the first course, as a ‘proof of concept’, to see if we could deliver, and with the help of Mike Durkan, one of the leading users of TADs and sliders, I think we were able to make it happen, albeit with delays and some equipment failures! The second course ran with 23 people in November, and I am looking forward to our April course

• 11^th (online) and 25^th London (hands-on) tadodontics.com 

Space Creation In Orthodontics (x 2)

A two day course, part of the MSc with the University of Digital Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry DTMD, A critical look at methods of space creation, expansion, distalisation, proclination, extractions and, of course, a full day of IPR. thank you Martin Baxmann for the invitation, it has given me the opportunity to develop the IPR course further with live demos and an excuse to by even more tech and equipment to squeeze into my office.

Aligner course

Teaching UK second year trainees / residents on aligners. This year’s course built on last year’s, with a new focus on Clincheck assessment and modifications, putting the theory of the 2 days into practice for different malocclusions. We also incorporated work-based-assessments into the programme, integrating the course further into the UK curriculum.  

Simply Ortho.

I co-hosted the Simply Ortho meeting in Bucharest, with Davide Morais and Can Keles, a great meeting with colleagues with over 400 attendees from all over the world.

IPR Course

The IPR course held in the UK has been popular in its third year, with clinicians and trainees alike. Our 2026 dates are available:

• 7^th February 2026 in Manchester
• 12^th September 2026 in London

Lectures

This year was my first speaking on the main scientific programme at the British Orthodontic Conference. It was great to open this year’s conference and share our research on AI diagnosis, with my UK colleagues and friends, pressure was on with my mentors, colleagues, friends and trainees in the audience, as well as Jay Bowman! I had the distinct pleasure to lecture on IPR as part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh webinar series, a real honour to have Pratik Sharma, my mentor from my training, host the session. Speaking at the trainee’s conference is always a pleasure and discussing Life Beyond Training as a NHS Consultant. 

Life Outside Of Work (there is still one!)

Time away has helped manage the more intense times this year, with Sri-Lanka being the highlight, I had the fortune to become an uncle twice this year.

Orthodontics in Summary podcast and blog | 2025

TOTAL Hits: 291,000 (previous year: 231,000)

• Website: 96,200 (previous: 80,000)
  • Facebook: 91,000 (previous: 46,000)
  • Instagram: 72,500 (previous: 25,000)
  • YouTube: 24,400
  • Spotify: 7,300

Subscribers: 23.5k
Facebook 10k | Instagram 6k | YouTube 3.5k | Email newsletter 2.5k | Spotify 1.5k

 Episodes 21, with 16 podcasts and 5 blogs

Top podcasts

• Interview: Björn Ludwig | Reflections Of 20 years In Orthodontics 15.3k
• Summary: Retention, Where Are We Now 7.2k

Top blogs

• Where Should The Incisors Be Positioned | Daniel Richmond 19k
• Aligner Trimlines, Which One Should I Choose | Shanya Kapoor 16.5k

Contributors (not possible without you!)

Kerolos AlHakeem

• James Andrews
• Shanya Kapoor
• AbdAllah Sharafeldin
• Daniel Richmond 

A special thanks to Jan Muscat, for suggesting interviewees for this year’s podcast.

Sponsors (not possible without you!)

The Aligner Intensive Fellowship

TOC Dental

Wishing you all a great 2026 from myself and the orthodontics in summary team

#farooqahmed

#orthodonticsinsummary

#2025