Kapila Gives Prestigious Orthodontics Lecture2 min read

Ann Arbor, MI — July 22, 2013 — A University of Michigan School of Dentistry professor recently delivered one of the profession of orthodontics most prestigious lectures, the Jacob A. Salzmann Lecture, during the American Association of Orthodontics annual session in Philadelphia. 

Dr. Sunil Kapila, the Robert W. Browne Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, spoke about how innovations in biomedicine and technology are changing the practice of orthodontics. 

Kapila said the advances in 3-D imaging, computer technologies and biomedicine that have transformed medicine are being rapidly adapted and applied in orthodontics.  

Discoveries in these fields are not only enhancing orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning, but are also sparking innovation with the development of “smart appliances,” advances in tissue engineering, and even ways to biologically regulate tooth movement. 

“In the next half century,” he added, “the confluence of innovations in technology and biological discoveries will have a major impact on the practice of orthodontics and how we will be able to help our patients.”

Kapila is the fourth University of Michigan School of Dentistry professor of orthodontics to deliver the prestigious Salzmann Lecture.  Previous presenters were Drs. Lysle Johnston (1998), James McNamara (1994), and Dr. Robert Moyers (1989). 

“I was honored to be selected to present this prestigious lecture to an international audience,” Kapila said.  “It offered all of us an opportunity to look back at where we have been as a profession, but more importantly, where we are headed.”

Kapila, chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry since 2004, is also the director of the Graduate Orthodontics Program.