Just like other subjects in medicine, orthodontics also uses some vague concepts to describe what are difficult to measure quantitatively. Anchorage control is one of them. With the development of evidence-based medicine, orthodontists pay more and more attention to the accuracy of the clinical evidence. The empirical description of anchorage control is showing inadequacy in modern orthodontics. This essay, based on author’s recent series of studies on anchorage control, points out the inaccuracy of maximum anchorage concept, commonly neglected points in quantitative measurement of anchorage loss and the solutions. It also discusses the limitation of maximum anchorage control.
