the University of North Carolina in 2008.  I completed the William R Proffit Teaching Fellowship before joining the faculty at UNC as a Clinical Professor.  I serve as the Clinical Director for Pre-doctoral orthodontics but also share my time teaching in the Graduate Program.

 Project

The primary focus of my research is 3-D assessment of hard and soft tissue changes associated with Bone Anchored Maxillary Protraction (BAMP) in the treatment of young Class III patients.  Recent publications show the effectiveness of BAMP in producing orthopedic results without dentoalveolar compensations that are often accompany alternative treatment modalities such as reverse-pull face mask or chin cup therapy.  In a joint collaboration between UNC and Hugo DeClerck of Belgium, we have accumulated a database consisting of 40+ patients with cone-beam CT (CBCT) images (T1- initial CBCT image before treatment and T2- 1 year after the start of treatment).  We are currently building 3D models and superimposing the images on the anterior cranial base to analyze the skeletal and soft tissue changes.  I plan finish the data analysis and submit the findings for publication in 2010.

As with any new treatment modality, the question of long-term stability is paramount.  We plan to obtain 2-year CBCT records for these patients to evaluate the effectiveness and stability of BAMP.  This follow-up data can also be used to enhance our understanding of 3-D longitudinal skeletal changes in Class III patients as well as 3D airway and soft tissue changes associated with BAMP.

How orthodontic education will benefit from AAOF Award

The data obtained from our research offer a promising alternative to conventional treatment of skeletal Class III malocclusion.  Long-term data is still needed to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of this methology and the AAOF award will help to supplement the funding needed to accomplish this.

Why the Foundation is important to the Project

I am extremely grateful to the AAOF for their support.  Finding the necessary time to split between developing teaching materials, conducting independent research and continuing to advance my clinical skills can be logistically difficult.  The AAOF award allows me to hire support staff for data collection with my research and gives me the protected time to focus on developing new teaching materials as well as learn new clinical techniques.