William Proffit

William Proffit

William Proffit

Title:
New Approaches, New Technologies in Modern Orthodontics

Synopsis:
A greater recognition of the clinical importance of facial proportions and tooth display has led to a greater emphasis on systematic clinical examination of the face as a diagnostic procedure. Although 3D photography now is available, digital video clips are more likely to become the standard photographic record for orthodontists. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) offers great advantages in evaluation of patients with asymmetry, and for all patients it offers the possibility of recognizing both pathology that would otherwise have been overlooked and appreciation of new diagnostic clusters. Genetic analysis is just becoming an important tool in evaluation of orthodontic patients. Its first application is detection of a gene that codes for primary failure of eruption, which can clarify this diagnosis at ages too early to confirm it otherwise. Genetic identification of subsets of patients with skeletal Class III problems will help to establish the prognosis for growth modification in a child with a developing Class III problem, and other applications are likely to follow quickly. Clinical application of new technology has led to a marketing emphasis on aspects of the new devices that often are somewhat irrelevant. Clinical treatment decisions always should be based on information for treatment outcomes, from clinical trials if possible, but always from a series of consecutively treated patients.

Bio:
William R. Proffit, Kenan Professor of Orthodontics at the University of North Carolina, is the author of Contemporary Orthodontics, now published in ten languages, and co-author of Contemporary Treatment of Dentofacial Deformity and two other books on surgical treatment. Other publications include over 160 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 40 book chapters and invited contributions. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, and among other awards has been recognized for excellence in clinical research with the Norton Ross award of the American Dental Association, for teaching excellence with the Jarabak Award of the American Association of Orthodontists, and for contributions to orthodontics with the Ketcham Award from the American Board of Orthodontics.