Edward H. Angle
Edward H. Angle, the father of modern orthodontics, was born in Pennsylvania in 1855. After a year-long apprenticeship with a family friend who was a dentist, Angle entered the Pennsylvania College of Dentistry, graduating in the spring of 1876. During his training Angle developed an interest in orthodontia, finding it a field in which he could apply his interest in mechanical design and invention. In 1880 Angle invented his first dental appliance, a jack and traction screw.
In 1885 Angle was appointed to the chair of orthodontia at the University of Minnesota. In 1892 Angle gave up his general practice, becoming the first to specialize in the practice and teaching of orthodontia. He taught at several dental schools, including Northwestern University, the Marion-Sims School of Dentistry, and the Dental Department of Washington University (1898-1900).
In St. Louis in 1900, Angle established the first post-graduate school of orthodontics in the world, the Edward H. Angle School of Orthodontia. Dr. Angle and the first graduates of his school organized the first orthodontic society, “The Society of Orthodontists,” which has evolved into the American Association of Orthodontists. In 1908 Angle moved his school to New York, and in 1916 he moved it to California. Angle died in Pasadena, California in 1930.
Angle contributed to the design of many orthodontic appliances and operations. He is best known for devising the first simple classification system for malocclusions, based on the first molar as the key to occlusion. His classification system is still in use today for orthodontic diagnosis.