Optimized, Not Just Aligned
Straight Teeth Are Not the Only Goal Who would argue that well aligned teeth are not more esthetic than those which are not? Having said that, teeth can be aligned nicely and still be a failure. It would be hard to enjoy your post-orthodontic smile if your teeth are set back too far […]
You Can Expand All Day and Still “Trap” the Incisors
How Expansion Can Lead to Lower Incisor Trapping Lateral expansion of the maxilla has been around for decades. It is well accepted as a positive although there is much disagreement about how best to do it. Rarely, however, is there discussion about how expansion and the ensuing orthodontic treatment can “trap” the lower incisor […]
Two Different AO’s, One Goal
How Traditional Orthodontic Treatment Approached Jaw Position In 1972, when I started my orthodontic residency I learned to treat the upper teeth to the lower teeth. That treatment usually involved headgear, extractions, and Class II elastics or a combination of all three. All these modalities brought the upper teeth BACK to meet the lowers. […]
Where should the front teeth be? The question Anterior Optimization (AO) forces you to answer.
Start With the Treatment Goal, Not the Appliance Often after finishing a lecture, doctors approach me and ask two questions: What appliance do I use? Where can they get that appliance? That is getting the cart before the horse. The question should be what is the goal for the patient? For me, the […]
AO Is Not AI. It’s the Judgment No Algorithm Makes for You.
Can AI Solve the Orthodontic Treatment Problem? Looking at orthodontic meeting offerings makes me think that AI will propel the orthodontic profession to success! I’m no better at predicting the future than anyone else, but I’m a skeptic. Will pouring in tons of data into a computer, pressing the button and waiting for the […]
Anterior Optimization – The part of the plan expansion forgets
Why Expansion Alone May Not Address the Full Problem If Rip Van Winkle were a dentist who slept for more than 20 years, he might be the only dentist who has not heard that expansion is the “cure” for all airway problems. With the airway paradigm now more than 25 years old, expansion has become […]
Why Your Patient’s TMJ Problem May Be Your Predecessor’s Orthodontic Case
News & Blog From my days in dental school in the mid-1960s, the subject of TMJ has been cloaked in controversy, conjecture, dogma, and fear — and framed by some as beyond the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of mortal dentists. I call the 1980s the “TMJ Decade,” with notable gurus giving courses at least every […]
MARPE in Adult Patients: A Clinical Decision Framework for When — and When Not — to Use It
News & Blog Disclaimer: The remarks that follow are heavily influenced by my own experience in orthodontics, which predates temporary anchorage devices of any kind by decades. Readers should know that I expanded my own maxilla 7 mm non-surgically and without TADs in the early 1990s, as well as my wife’s maxilla approximately 10 mm […]
Why Airway Orthodontics Is Going Mainstream — And What That Means for Your Practice
News & Blog I was quietly practicing airway orthodontics at a time when there were only a handful of us in the world. I had recognized a severe health problem and wanted to do what I could to help young kids. I knew what I was doing was pretty much the opposite of the standard […]
Informed Consent in the Airway Era: Litigation Is on the Rise — Are You Telling Patients Enough Before Starting Treatment?
News & Blog Informed consent during most of my practice career was easy and pretty much a non-issue. Litigation wasn’t a big deal in the 1970s, except apparently in California, where the California Association of Orthodontists drafted an informed consent form for its members. I practiced in Vermont and, like most other orthodontists, used that […]