Orthodontics: Current Principles and Techniques 6th Edition

Orthodontics: Current Principles and Techniques

This is the eighth re-writing of a textbook that has remained the most widely used graduate orthodontic textbook in the world and has now been translated in to multiple languages. Tom Graber was the initial editor in the late 1960s. He was encouraged by colleagues within the orthodontic educational community to fill what they saw as a void within orthodontic specialty programs. They perceived that although there were many excellent graduate programs, there was significant variance in the educational assets these programs provided for their residents.
In bringing together the thoughts of excellent clinicians and related scientists in a text specifically meant for the advanced study of orthodontics, concepts and techniques could be shared with all benefitting.
An additional thought, shared at the time in both academic and professional association circles, was the need for a means to provide better continuing education to those already in practice.
Today we take for granted that technologies and concepts change very quickly, and we must keep ourselves current. Forty-five plus years ago, the need was not as self-evident. Thus, in developing a textbook with recognized and vetted authorities on a wide array of subjects impacting clinical practice, the editors could provide a critical resource to those who had completed their formal education and were subsequently in primarily solo practices offices. The concept was that the text would be a basis for continued learning—a foundation on which these clinicians could better judge new material seen in their journals and professional lectures. By the very nature of this concept, there was an inherent demand that the text itself be updated to reflect the current basis on which the orthodontic specialty was being practiced. This demanded that it be updated on a regular basis, reducing emphasis in some areas, adding in others as both basic science concepts and clinical techniques further matured.