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Orthodontics

A model of a jaw with horizontal lines measuring the difference in height between teeth on either side.

Supereruption Model System

Orthodontists focus on moving teeth using appliances.  However, post-eruptive teeth also move within jaws without any direct mechanical force:  they either supererupt or drift.  When UIC Orthodontics Department Head Dr. Carla Evans established the Brodie Laboratory for Craniofacial Genetics in 2001, Dr. Bernie Schneider, one of UIC’s senior orthodontists, sought to build a bridge between our lab and his interest in the model system of the un-opposed molar that he pursued under the tutelage of Vienna’s distinguished anatomists Harry Sicher and Joseph-Peter Weinmann (Holiday et al. 2005, Luan and Diekwisch 2007).  Bernie’s quest turned into a continuous inspiration to revisit fundamental questions about the molecular mechanisms behind tooth supereruption (Luan et al. 2007, Pandya et al. 2022) and the drift of the dentition (Walker et al. 2010).

Contributions to Journals