I've looked into this quite a bit. My daughter is only 5 and already has a malocclusion and open bite. Orthdontists have different opinions here. Some I've heard:
- No different than traditional orthodontics. Results from moving teeth, not skeletal changes. Reverse pull headgear
- Snake oil. Makes false claims. Certainly some practitioners don't smell right.
- Works but compliance is unreasonable
- Why torture a child like this?
- Research suggests that if you fix the bad oral habits, the skeletal deformities disappear too. That means focusing on opening up airways, removing pacifiers, good prenatal nutrition, etc
One orthodontist had a good point about my daughter. Orthotropics can't fix an open bite so she's likely headed for surgery anyway. Relapse isn't much of an issue I think. As with jaw surgery, a stable normal occlusion will always hold. You run into trouble with movements that aren't accommodated by soft tissue.