Valmy Pangrazio-Kulbersh

• DDS, MS
• Managing Director at University of Detroit Mercy

Introduction An accurate identification of mandibular asymmetries is required by modern orthodontics and orthognathic surgery to improve diagnosis and treatment planning of such deformities. Although craniofacial deformities are very frequent pathologies, some types of asymmetries can be very difficult to assess without the proper diagnostic tools....

Advanced dental education programs in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics require an extensive and comprehensive evidence-based experience, which must be representative of the current didactic and technical advancements. Over the past 25 years, the World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO) has placed emphasis in the support for the recognized or...

The Society of Orthodontic Specialty Certifying Boards aims to encourage the formation of new certifying orthodontic boards worldwide and stimulate existing orthodontic certifying boards to review and revise their certification process. The main goal of Society of Orthodontic Specialty Certifying Boards is to motivate more orthodontists to become b...

In 2017, the directors of the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) decided to move forward with a new clinical examination format—a scenario-based examination. The first examination of this type was administered in February 2019, and 2 more exams have been given since then. Each examination consisted of at least 6 scenarios with 4-7 questions for e...

The American Board of Orthodontics has updated its clinical examination process to remove barriers to the case-based examination, strengthen the specialty, and further distinguish board-certified orthodontists from other dental practitioners providing orthodontic care. The ABO adopted a scenario-based clinical examination and discontinued case requ...

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of early treatment in Class I, II, and III malocclusions based on the reduction of weighted Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) scores. Materials and methods: Two hundred thirty subjects (female = 105; male = 125) selected from 400 cases were divided into three groups based on their malocclusions (Class I, II, and III...

The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) works to certify orthodontists in a fair, reliable, and valid manner. The process must examine an orthodontist's knowledge, abilities, and critical thinking skills to ensure that each certified orthodontist has the expertise to provide the highest level of patient care. Many medical specialty boards and 4 Am...

The American Board of Orthodontics has developed tools to help examinees select patients to be used for the Board examination. The Case Management Form can be used to evaluate aspects of a patient's treatment that cannot be measured by other tools. The Case Management Form is a structured treatment-neutral assessment of orthodontic objectives and o...

Objective: To evaluate the maxillary alveolar buccal bone levels after expansion with banded and bonded expanders, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: The population sample consisted of 22 patients who required expansion during their comprehensive treatment; 10 patients (five males and five females) with a mean age...

Objective: To examine the changes produced by the mandibular anterior repositioning appliance (MARA) appliance and compare the treatment effects to an untreated Class II control group. Materials and methods: Thirty consecutively treated patients were matched with an untreated control group. Lateral cephalograms were taken at T1, 5 months pre-MAR...

To test the hypothesis that there were no differences in the skeletal and dental effects of banded vs bonded expanders when evaluated using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The experimental sample consisted of 23 patients: 13 (seven male, six female; mean age  =  12.6 ±1.8 years) and 10 (five male, five female; mean age  =  13.5 ± 2.1 years) t...

To compare treatment outcomes of growing and nongrowing Class II patients characterized by mandibular retrusion and increased vertical dimension. Seventeen patients (mean age 9 years 5 months) were treated with a Bionator fabricated with posterior bite block and high-pull headgear, while 15 patients (mean age 23 years 6 months) received Le Fort I o...

To determine if the long-term dentoskeletal changes in patients treated with tooth-borne functional appliances were comparable to each other and to matched controls. The experimental sample consisted of 80 consecutively treated patients who were equally divided into Bionator, Herbst, Twin Block, and mandibular anterior repositioning appliance (MARA...

Zusammenfassung Ziele: Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war der Vergleich der Auswirkungen einer Therapie mit Gesichtsmaske mit einer unbehandelten Klasse-IIIKontrollgruppe und mit den Ergebnissen einer chirurgischen Vorverlagerung des Oberkiefers mittels einer Le-Fort-I-Osteotomie. Material: Die Protraktions- und die Chirurgiegruppe bestanden aus jewe...

The aim of this retrospective cephalometric study was 3-fold: (1) to compare the effects and long-term stability of protraction facemask treatment with untreated Class III controls, (2) to compare the long-term stability of early protraction facemask treatment with later surgical maxillary advancement with LeFort I osteotomy, and (3) to determine w...

The objective of this study was to compare the treatment outcomes and stability of patients with Class II malocclusion treated with either functional appliances or surgical mandibular advancement. The early-treatment group consisted of 30 patients (15 girls, 15 boys), with a mean age of 10 years 4 months (range, 7 years 5 months to 12 years 5 month...

The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of condylar axis distraction from maximum intercuspation (MI) to centric relation (CR) in a 2-phase treatment group compared with a group of patients treated with a 1-phase gnathologically based treatment approach. More specifically, the difference in condylar axis position measured was the p...

The mandibular anterior repositioning appliance (MARA) is a tooth-borne functional appliance for use in patients with Class II malocclusions; it positions the mandible forward into a Class I occlusion. The aim of this study was to investigate the MARA's dental and skeletal effects on anterior, posterior, and vertical changes in 30 Class II patients...

Combined orthodontic and surgical treatment of severe Class II dentoskeletal deformities with the use of the bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy is a routine procedure in orthodontic practices. However, an alternative surgical technique, the total mandibular subapical alveolar osteotomy, could be used for the same purpose. The aim of this inve...

Although many improvements have been made in orthodontic surgical procedures for mandibular retrognathism, relapse continues to occur. This study was designed to compare the stability of rigid and nonrigid fixation between 2 groups of patients who had undergone mandibular advancement surgery via sagittal split ramus osteotomy. Retrospective cephalo...

Previous studies on the effects of surgical and rapid palatal expansion have been largely based on general skeletal and dental findings ascertained from radiographs and casts. The aim of this study was to measure and compare the soft tissue changes of the face during the expansion process and to determine the stability of any changes 1 year later....

In this study, the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index was used to objectively evaluate early treatment outcomes. Pretreatment and posttreatment casts of 103 consecutively treated patients were analyzed. The mean chronological, skeletal, and dental ages were 9. 82, 9.76, and 9.32 years, respectively. Calibrated examiners scored all models using the...

At the present time no reports are available on the stability between orthopedic and surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion. This study was designed to examine and compare the dental and skeletal changes over time for both orthopedic maxillary expansion and surgically assisted palatal expansion. The study was divided into two groups. Group one...

Forty patients with Class III maxillary deficiencies were each treated with a bonded maxillary palatal expansion appliance followed by protraction. Nineteen of the 40 patients were retained with a Frankel III appliance. This group was compared with 24 Class I patients treated solely with bonded expansion appliance mechanotherapy. To determine at wh...

This case was presented at the Student Case Display, ABO in 1995 San Francisco, Calif., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the certification process conducted by the Board. (A M J ORTHOD DENTOFAC ORTHOP 1996;109:341-7.)

This study was an attempt to show how a variation in the anteroposterior position of nasion, or length of the anterior cranial base, when used as a reference line, affects the esthetic outcome of surgically repositioned bony bases. Five white female subjects exhibiting a short anterior cranial base and characterized by maxillary retrusion were incl...

In this study, 53 patients who underwent a bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy to advance the mandible were examined radiographically to assess condylar position presurgically, postsurgically, and posttreatment. Subjects were separated into two groups, 29 patients who received wire fixation and 24 who received rigid internal fixation. Condylar...

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the cranial bases of blacks and whites in regard to length, angulation, and flexure, and to determine what proportion of the differences in facial measurements can be explained by the variability seen in the cranial base. Standardized cephalograms of 100 native-born North American black adults were t...

Despite the advances in diagnostic and orthognathic surgical techniques, a certain amount of dental or skeletal relapse occurs in orthodontically and surgically treated cases. The interaction of orthodontic therapy with the anticipated surgical procedure must be carefully analyzed and all aspects of the dento-skeletal malocclusion considered if fac...

The extraction of the geminated maxillary central incisors was selected as the preferred treatment in this case because of the impossibility of properly recontouring these teeth. Although the crowns could have been reshaped somewhat to conform to a more normal size and shape, the roots were so wide that approximation of the central and lateral inci...

Patients whose facial esthetics are not severely compromised but who need surgical intervention for the correction of a dentoskeletal problem can be treated by repositioning of the whole mandibular alveolar segment in the direction needed to allow for such correction. The challenge to achieve efficient and relatively stable results with the use of...

An implant study using postero- anterior cephalometric radiographs to evaluate expansion effects of the Fränkel appliance. Significant alveolar and apical base expansion was found in the treatment group, with much smaller increases at the midpalatal suture. Molar tipping was insignificant.