interview by Abbas Einali
An interview with Dr. Hossein Fayaz Monfared, an Iranian orthodontic specialist
Conducted on January 17th, 2022 .
Orthodontics is one of the specialized fields in dentistry that in recent years has attracted the attention of many people who seek to improve the beauty of their face, teeth and smile. Hence, we arranged an interview with Dr. Hossein Fayaz Monfared, as one of the most prominent orthodontic specialists in Iran and the most well-known orthodontist in the southeast of the country, especially in Kerman, the full account of which you can read below. Dr. Fayaz Monfared graduated cum laude from the School of Dentistry at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, the most prestigious dental schools in Iran. In addition to being renowned for treating orthodontic patients, he is the founder of the most successful and popular dental clinic in Kerman.
To start the conversation, give us a brief account of your educational and professional background.
I am Dr. Hossein Fayaz Monfared. Having managed to get into Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences as one of the top-ranked candidates of the Entrance Exam in 1993, I earned my doctoral degree in dentistry and graduated cum laude in 1999. Graduating cum laude allowed me to immediately pursue the specialized training in orthodontics, thus being the first to study for the specialized training in orthodontics right after earning a doctorate degree in dentistry – an unprecedented feat in the history of the Shahid Beheshti Dental School in the 1990s. Eventually in 2002, I passed the National Board Dental Examination as a top-ranked candidate. Following graduation, I worked as an assistant professor in the Orthodontics Department of the Dental School in Kerman until 2009 and shortly after founded two orthodontic clinics in Kerman and Tehran simultaneously, practice in which I have been engaged so far. The result of these 20 years of practice has been thousands of orthodontic treated cases with exceptional results. My patients, some of whom have been under my supervision for almost two decades, would attest that the passage of time notwithstanding, they continue to enjoy beautiful and even teeth.
Please briefly explain the orthodontic treatment.
As you know, the science of orthodontics includes a wide range of abilities – from correcting severe inherited or acquired jaw skeletal anomalies to fixing dental irregularities. The ultimate goal of this treatment is to improve the beauty standards of face and smile, as well as improving long-term health and consequently increasing the efficiency of the chewing system, including the teeth, jaws and the temporomandibular joint.
What is the best age to start orthodontic treatment?
The appropriate age for orthodontic treatment varies depending on the type and origin of the deformity and the sex of the patient. Usually, jaw abnormalities that are caused by the growth of jaws less or more than the normal limit should be treated at a younger age, even at the age of 7, but the right time to treat abnormalities that stem solely from teeth irregularities and are not affected by the position of the jaws coincides with the time when the primary teeth fall out and the permanent teeth begin to appear at the age of 12 or 13. In general, it is recommended that the first orthodontic visit take place at the age of 8.
Can one’s sex affect the initiation of proper treatment?
Because in general puberty occurs in girls earlier than in boys, the process of growth and development of teeth and jaws also occurs earlier and faster in girls than in boys, so in order to optimally use the potential of skeletal growth and to take advantage of the adaptability of jaws in one’s adolescence, the optimal age to begin orthodontic treatment in girls is slightly lower than similar cases in boys.
What methods are there for orthodontic treatment?
In general, orthodontic appliances include two main types: fixed and removable. The fixed type includes appliances that are permanently placed by the doctor on the teeth or other anatomical areas in the mouth and cannot be removed by the patient, the most common form of which are orthodontic braces. The removable appliances, on the other hand, include a variety of orthodontic treatment devices which can be removed by the patient and can be used at certain times of the day.
Some people believe that orthodontic treatment can damage the teeth. Is this statement true?
The answer to this question requires an explanation. You see, treatment in orthodontics, like all treatment processes in dentistry or medicine, includes two main elements: the doctor and the patient: if the doctor has the necessary expertise and experience to perform the orthodontic treatment, and, on the other hand, if the patient also has the needed treatment standards, including maintaining their oral healthcare during the treatment, attending treatment sessions regularly and using the removable appliances and moving parts as prescribed, the orthodontic treatment will certainly work out without complications.
What is the reason why sometimes we see the relapse of the orthodontic treatment results?
Regarding the relapse of orthodontic treatment results, the same two elements of the doctor and the patient that were already discussed play crucial roles. If the doctor correctly considers the principles of the retention phase, which follows the end of the orthodontic treatment, and the patient follows the instructions related to the retainers, the chances that the results would relapse reduces to almost none.
In the end, what is the key to your accomplishment as a successful and well-known orthodontist?
Basically, the treatments that I have provided my patients with during my twenty years of practice have included several guarantees: the guarantee of the most ideal result, the guarantee of not causing the slightest damage to the teeth and their surrounding tissues as a result of the orthodontic treatment, and finally the guarantee of lifelong durability and no relapse following the completion of the treatment. From my point of view, the most important factors that have made it possible for me to provide the above-mentioned guarantees for thousands of my patients during these years and present myself as one of the most reliable orthodontists in Kerman include the following:
- Having the most outstanding academic records in the most prestigious dental school in Iran.
- Applying the up-to-date treatment methods in the world and using the most modern orthodontic devices produced in America, especially the unique products of the American Orthodontics Company.
- Continuous follow-up of the latest developments in the field of orthodontics through articles and books or participation in national and foreign conferences.
- Firm belief in the academic disciplines of orthodontic treatment and avoiding any negligence or shortcuts during treatment.
- Benefiting from the advice of other colleagues, particularly those working in Europe and America.
- Constant and direct presence: I have never, under any circumstances, entrusted the responsibility of treating patients even for a short period or for the trivial medical care to other colleagues, and I have always personally supervised all the treatment stages of my patients.
- Keeping up a cheerful disposition while interacting with the patients and their families, and more importantly, accepting accountability in the long run. What distinguishes the clinics under my supervision is scheduling follow-ups with the patient and getting an update on the results of their treatment even long after the completion of the treatment. In my clinics, I am delighted to welcome patients, even those from the past twenty years, in order to answer their possible questions.
- And finally, the undeniable impact of principled, efficient and science-oriented supervision on various affairs of clinics : during two decades of orthodontic practice at two clinics with a large number of patients, in addition to trying to provide the highest standards of treatment and taking into account the strictest principles of medical ethics, I have firmly believed that along with conscientiousness on the medical aspects , there should be disciplined, scientific, and up-to-date supervision on different affairs of clinics as well. In other words, besides keeping the quality of the treatment high, maintaining an acceptable quality in the field of technical management including issues related to the personnel, equipments, amenities, facilities, finance, branding, advertising, etc. should not be underestimated, a fact which has been of concern to me throughout my career.
What is the importance of dental treatments in medical tourism and to what extent can this field be a means of earning foreign currency?
Dental tourism is often done for expensive oral and dental treatments and surgeries that are not covered by insurance. Therefore, many international patients are inclined to travel to other countries for this purpose. Iran has both qualified doctors and a competitive advantage. On the other hand, Iranian specialists have gained decent experience in the field of dental beauty in recent years. All these can be considered an advantage for Iran’s health tourism. I believe that the following treatments can easily attract therapeutic tourists to Iran:
- Endodontic treatments and implant
- Restorative procedures such as crown and veneer
- Prosthodontics treatments like bridge and denture
- Routine treatments such as tooth filling and scaling
- Bleaching
However, it should be noted that some treatments are not suitable for dental tourism: for example, it is not possible to seek orthodontic treatment abroad because it is a long-term treatment that requires the patient to be examined at regular intervals.
