ORTHO INDUSTRY NEWS Georgia Children of Purple Heart Veterans Offered Complimentary Orthodontic Care Continuing their commitment to excellence in high-quality patient centered care and service to the community, Georgia School of Orthodon-tics (GSO) has proudly partnered with the Georgia Dental Foundation to provide compli-mentary orthodontic care to children of Purple Heart recipi-ents through the Purple Heart Smiles program. The Purple Heart Smiles program serves and empowers chil-dren of veterans who were wounded, injured or killed during their service by providing the opportunity to receive complimentary, high-quality orthodontic treatment. The program is ongoing and does not have a cutoff date or maximum number of patients. The Purple Heart is a military deco-ration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who are killed or wounded in action. Georgia, which became a Purple Heart state in 2014 and has 10 Military Order of the Purple Heart chapters, is home to more than 5,000 veterans and active duty military personnel who have received the Purple Heart. "We are grateful every day for the men and women who serve our coun-try in the armed forces," said GSO Program Director Dr. Ricky Harrell. "It is a privilege and an honor to be able to give back to Purple Heart veterans by providing their children with a beau-tiful, confidence-boosting smile." Dr. Harrell, as well as several other GSO faculty are veterans, and they are proud to be involved with the Purple Heart Smiles program. Qualified recipients are guaran-teed a complimentary initial orthodontic evaluation with one of GSO's expert doctors, and they will also receive free braces and contin-ued orthodontic care for the dura-tion of their treatment. For more information, visit www.bracestoday.com/purple-heart-smiles. Missouri Orthodontist's Nerdy T-shirt Worn on Netflix ‘Stranger Things’ Global Orthodontic Supplies Market Project Growth According to a recent study, the global orthodontic supplies market is likely to grow from $3.4 billion in 2016 to $5.9 billion by 2023. The demand for orthodontic supplies is on a surge mainly due to increasing prevalence of oral diseases. Some of the most common oral diseases include dental cavities, periodontal diseases, oral cancer, malocclusions and other oral diseases and disor-ders. High prevalence of oral diseases depicts increased demand for orthodontic supplies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 60% to 90% of the school children and nearly 100% of adults suffer from dental cavi-ties. It has also been observed that, around 15% to 20% of adults aged between 35 to 44 years, suffer from severe periodontal disease. Technologically, advanced orthodontic products offer various advantages over conventional prod-ucts, which has led to their increased adoption by orthodontists and consumers. In March 2017, Dentsply Sirona Inc., introduced redesigned and re-engineered GAC buccal tubes. The tubes deliver improved fit and bond strength as it has a patented base that has been contoured to match the buccal surface. The introduction of these tubes is expected to reflect the input from the orthodontic community. For more information about this report, visit www.researchand-markets.com/research/vq6l6v/ orthodontic. The actor who plays Dustin on the Netflix series Stranger Things sported a Missouri orthodontist's T-shirt design. Dr. Wes Allai was thrilled to learn the T-shirt he designed in 1982 for his patients was featured on the Netflix show. In episodes five and six, the character Dustin sports an orange T-shirt with cartoon astronauts affixing braces to a floating set of teeth in front of a planet. The caption reads: "Brace yourself for the future." Dr. Allai designed this T-shirt for his patients to highlight the connection between orthodontics and NASA technology. "One of my patients Facebooked me and said, “You know I'm watching Netflix and Dustin on the series is wearing the T-shirt that you gave me 25 years ago," Allai said. "And then about five minutes later, she Face-booked me back and said, "I just talked to my mom and she still has her T-shirt from 30 years ago when you straightened her teeth." Allai has been giving a shirt to every new patient who comes through his Springfield, MO dental office since 1982. Allai designed it, he said, at a time when people were very excited about space travel. He wanted his patients to know about the intersection between orthodon-tics and space technology. For example, he said orthodontic braces are made from nitinol, a resilient metal alloy designed to protect spacecraft from the impact of flying debris. 6 Winter 2018 JAOS
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society Winter 2018: Page 6
