Orthodontics in 3 millennia. Chapter 14: Surgical adjuncts to orthodontics

Around 1970, after overcoming obstacles related to anesthesia, infection, and blood supply, orthognathic surgeons come into their own. The history of cleft lip and palate treatment has a much earlier beginning because a deformed infant evokes a strong desire to intervene. Angle’s belief that orthodontists can grow bone finally came to fruition with the advent of distraction osteogenesis, which developed from the limb-lengthening procedures of Ilizaroff in Russia. Now distraction osteogenesis has replaced osteotomies in many applications.