The MDA® Appliance: The Key to Successful Treatment of Class II Malocclusion

Maxillary Repositioning with Distalization Mechanics

The significance of distalization to successful non-extraction treatment cannot be under-estimated. This is the one technique for tooth movement that allows me to treat non-extraction and also to selectively couple the teeth into ideal interdigitation. Prior to developing mechanics to bodily move teeth distally, the alternative treatment for severe crowding was extraction of permanent teeth. So significant is the maxillary distalization technique, that an entire issue of Seminars in Orthodontics¹ was dedicated to the various techniques of distalization. Discussed in the introduction of this issue is the debate concerning extraction and non- extraction treatment. “Although trends have waxed and waned over time, in recent years society has dictated to the clinician that teeth be spared the taste of ‘cold steel and a breath of fresh air’. One of the more common methods for creating dental arch length or space has been through distalizing the maxillary posterior dentition.” I continue to be amazed by colleagues, both specialists and non-specialists, particularly those in the academic arena, who refuse to accept the distalization concept.