ADA General Meeting - "Screws, plates and aligners: new waves in orthodontics".

Screws, plates, and aligners: new waves in orthodontics.

Timely treatment and anchorage control is required in treating dental malocclusions. Traditionally, fixed appliances, headgear or the incorporation of more teeth have been used to add to anchorage segments, while orthognathic surgery is necessary for treatment of severe skeletal discrepancies. Today, aligner therapy and temporary anchorage devices (TADs) are at the center of innovation for orthodontic treatment. Aligner therapy is fast becoming the more popular choice of treatment for patients. Meanwhile, TADs have arisen to feature in the treatment of growing patients with skeletal disharmonies and to achieve controlled tooth movement in all 3 planes of space.

Patients with complex malocclusions require careful assessment and thoughtful solutions. Excitingly, advances in orthodontics mean that we can offer cutting-edge solutions to some of these challenging cases. However, case selection is vital and there are many pitfalls to some of these treatments. To attain the best results for these patients, a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment is required.

During this case-based presentation, Mo and Azza will provide a broad overview of these more modern techniques. They will focus on case selection and common pitfalls of these treatment modalities.

About our speakers:

Dr Mo Al-Dujaili

Mo is an orthodontic specialist who qualified from the University of Otago and practices at Shakespeare Orthodontics in Auckland.

Mo had worked as a dentist and a specialist orthodontist in multiple practices across Australia and New Zealand before settling back in Auckland, where he practices alongside Azza - his wife and fellow orthodontist.

He has presented at acclaimed national and international conferences and meetings including presentations at the International Association of Dental Research (IADR), the European Orthodontic Society, and the Australasian Begg Society of Orthodontics Conferences. He currently holds a position of Senior Lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology and has also published in peer-reviewed journals.

A firm believer in maintaining high clinical standards, Mo has completed numerous examinations and is consequently affiliated with the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. He also holds numerous professional national and international memberships. He is a Fellow of the World Federation of Orthodontics, and a Member of the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists, New Zealand Dental Association and the American Association of Orthodontists.

Dr Azza Al-Ani

Azza  graduated BDS from the University of Otago in 2009. She then worked at Auckland District Health Board, at Westmead Hospital in Sydney (Australia) and in private practice before returning to Otago in 2014 to undertake her Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Orthodontics.

Azza has published several papers in the international dental literature, including the Journal of Dental Research, and has been involved in the academic and clinical teaching of dental students at the University of Otago. She passed examinations to gain memberships into the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She is also certified with the Australasian Orthodontic Board. Azza’s doctoral research topic investigated the effects of environmental and genetic factors involved in hypodontia, with the findings published in a number of peer-reviewed journals – this is a strong interest area in orthodontics for her.