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Chat Room |
Summer 2010 (May-June-July-August)It was so good to see many friends and colleagues at the 2010 AAO meeting in Washington, D. C. In addition to the meeting, Janna and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with two of our grandchildren ... Chuck's son, Blake, and his daughter, Kellyn. We toured some of the highlights found in this fabulous city. For anyone who loves and/or respects the United States of America, this city can give you many reasons to understand why. With all the turmoil in the world today, sometimes it can give us a negative attitude about the future of our world ... Greece, devaluation of the Euro and other factors in which you and I have no control ... we can sometimes wonder about the future of our world. Speaking of the future... BOOK UPDATE: After discussions with Quintessence at the AAO meeting, the decision was made to introduce the book at the 2011 AAO meeting in Chicago, Illinois. We continue to increase the number of long term patients coming back to the office to have Moody treat the new generation. And I must say ... the long term patients are looking better and better!!! :) SELF LIGATION Survey: Over the past few years much advertising has been directed toward the use of self-ligation brackets. I have been told that their popularity has reached its peak and has leveled off or slightly reduced. It is apparent that some of you who are "believers" in our technique have switched to self-ligation for efficiency purposes. So I have a question for you... 
Spring 2010 (Feb-March-April) It is hard to believe, but this winter we have broken a record on the annual amount of snow fall for Dallas/Fort Worth. So much for global warming!!! CURRENT NEWS: Yours truly, Elisa and Becky are hard at work on the next book… “Treatment Guidelines for Building Facial Harmony and Stability”. At this time, the book has 8 chapters, and over 25 long term cases to study. If all goes well, it should be published by the end of the year. If you have any thought or suggestions, now is the time to let me know. As the global economy has threatened the welfare of all of us, maybe this is a good time to re-focus on the real purpose of our profession…PATIENT WELFARE. Most parents will sacrifice for their children. Maybe we should also be more lenient with their financial obligation during these troubled times. The good news is that times will be better!! So, if we continue to focus on quality care, it will not be long before times will improve and you will be better off than before. For my schedule, the first half of the year 2010 will be spent lecturing in the USA…NYU, UKC, Kansas City, White Plains, NY. I will not be lecturing at the AAO this year; but, will be at the American Orthodontics booth. Hope to see you in Washington, D.C. The second half of the year will be spent on the big bird (airplane) traveling around the world – China, Italy, Poland, and Japan and possible more. Hope to see you during this time! Mark your calendar now for the next Alexander International Symposium to be held in Rome, Italy! This is the earliest we have ever scheduled this meeting, so you have plenty of time to create a paper to present. The theme of the meeting is: Efficiency and Stability: Keys to a Rock Solid Foundation Have a great Spring (northern Hemisphere) and always remember….E=R!!
January 2010 Already ... the first decade has passed in the 21st Century and we are beginning a New Year with hope and expectations. Looking back to the close of 2009, we had a very successful lecture tour to Germany and Poland in December. Included in the German audience was the "Bavarian" Alexander Study Club, led by Dr. Florian Faessler. I had the opportunity to visit several offices and was very impressed with the beauty of their offices and especially the quality of their orthodontic treatment. Krakow, Poland was my next stop. Every time I venture into Eastern Europe, I am reminded of the hardships suffered by these people during World War II and the Soviet Union. I visited the WW II concentration camp, Auschwitz, which gave a very sobering feeling of the horrors of war, as well as the thanks we must always remember to give to those who sacrificed their lives to allow us all to enjoy the freedoms of today. The lecture topics included two of my latest interests concerning "Biomechanics" and "Guidelines." These courses focus on where the teeth should be at the end of treatment ... then, mechanically, how we can achieve these goals. It is my hope and prayer that everyone who reads this had a wonderful Holiday Season. My family was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend some time in Aspen, Colorado for skiing and relaxing. The "old man" can still get down the mountain on those skis! :) And now .... on to the future!! January 2010 has already given us the opportunity to get off to a good start with the Advanced Principles Course in Arlington, then on to New York to share my experience with NYU graduate students. As we begin this new decade, I want all to know how happy I am with my relationship with American Orthodontics! They have been focused on helping create high quality products that continue to make our system the best bracket system possible. If you ever have any problems or miscommunications with AO, feel free to contact me. They are dedicated to making it the best bracket system in orthodontics, so they want to help you. My next lecture will be at the University of Illinois in Chicago on Feb. 12 - 13th.
Fall 2009
In Texas, as the “dog days of summer” finally changed into the most beautiful time of the year, it is time Fall and time for American football. This is significant to me not only as a fan, but a former player. After graduating from high school, having an athletic scholarship at Texas Tech University also gave me the opportunity to study my pre-dental requirements. Who knows if I would have pursued a higher education and dentistry were it not for that scholarship??? In looking back over my life, I can recall how many small decisions resulted in changing the direction of my life. I am sure you can see similar events in your life, also. Enough of the distant past, let’s look to see what has happened recently and what to expect in the near future. Autumn brings a break from the heat and plans for a great trip to Bulgaria and Romania in September. In Bulgaria, the Study Club is growing and developing an excellent group where the doctors are learning from each other by sharing cases and discussing treatment plans. It is a pleasure to enjoy their successes. Dr. Ivan Goryalov and his wife, Sylvana, joyfully welcomed the birth of their daughter, Eva, on her Sept. 25.
Following Bulgaria, I traveled to Romania. Bucharest is such a beautiful city. I gave the Principles Course here and everyone really enjoyed the wire bending session. Thank you to Study Club members who helped with the hands-on activity. Your knowledge and experience is invaluable. Everyone always wants to spend more time bending Omega loops. After this trip to Eastern Europe, I traveled to Baja, Mexico ….It was great getting to know the members of the Baja California Ortho Group and also the students from Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Campus Tijuana. My lecture was “Guidelines for Building Facial Harmony and Stability”. There were 8 of the students from Baja who came to Arlington to attend the Principles Course. For those of you who want to know more about the basic fundamentals of the AD, the annual “Principles” course is in September in Arlington. For the “beginner” in our technique, this is the perfect course. Also, we always have several long time users who return for a refresher course. You will also be hearing from brother Moody, son Moody and nephew Cliff. In 2 ½ days we teach the 20 Principles that are discussed in detail in my latest book. You need to have my book, if you don’t already have it. You can order it from this website. As we move into the Fall….I not only shared many memories at my high school reunion in Amarillo, Texas; but, also made new memories while celebrating the 30 Year anniversary of the Alexander Study Club of Japan. My trip to Japan included lectures in Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagasaki. The first time to work with Biodent of Japan was truly a pleasure. All the details coordinated with the Study Club members were excellent. Although it was the celebration of 30 years of coming to Japan, it was my inaugural visit to Nagasaki. The city has made remarkable recovery from its destruction in 1945. Thank you for sharing your home countries with me. I feel so welcome in each place I visit around the world and look forward to sharing America and Texas with you some day. Remember that I will be teaching an advanced Principles Course in January. See the website for details. Now, “On to the Future”…. Wick * * * *
Summer 2009
A busy, but exciting, few weeks has just come to a pleasant
end. You may be aware that I was
in
Although
the entire trip was great, meeting new friends and seeing beautiful
Four
days after returning from
Isn’t it ironic that the most significant legacy to
be left to the future of orthodontics, may be all those patients I treated so
many years ago. J
The
lecture in
After
such a busy first half of the year with traveling and lecturing, the summer
will give me some free time for family, working on my next book, and future
lectures. May you also have a
great summer…
*
* *
May 2009
The 2009 Meeting of the AAO
will go down in my history as a very significant time for the Alexander
family.
To begin with, several years ago, sons
Chuck and J. Moody helped organize a “Prayer Breakfast” that is held
on Sunday morning during the meeting. It has proven to be a wonderful time of
fellowship and worship with many outstanding programs.
But this year, the program
was presented by J. Moody and his family. They told the story of the trials
and tribulations that surrounded the adoption of their baby boy, Abe, from
On another personal note, I
had the honor to be presented the “Dale Wade Award” from the
American Board of Orthodontics. This award is given for outstanding
contribution to our beloved profession. I am humbled by the recognition and
very appreciative.
Dr. Jerry English, Chair of
the Ortho Dept. at
I want to thank all those
friends from around the world who sent e-mails or wrote letters of congratulations to me. Also, it was great
to see those of you who attended the luncheon and shared this memory with me.
It was a true blessing. An informal reception for our study club members was
held after the luncheon. We thank all of you who attended for making such an
effort to be there.
The next afternoon I gave
my lecture on biomechanics. The most difficult thing for me was to follow my
friend, Charley Burstone, the world’s most famous biomechanics expert.
Luckily, we had a great audience, around 1200 doctors, and everyone seemed to
respond positively.
Another highlight of the
AAO meeting was seeing nephew Cliff Alexander’s video presentation
where he placed indirect brackets on a lingual patient. It was very
interesting. In addition to teaching our technique at St. Louis Orthodontic
Department, Cliff lectures extensively on “iBraces”.
This time next month (June
1 – 14th) I will be lecturing in
Enjoy the spring and
summer! Can you believe that 2009 is already 1/3 over??? So enjoy!
April 2009
It is spring time in
I hope your world is also full of positive thoughts and optimism. The world economy is in terrible condition, but historically, orthodontics is less susceptible than most other professions to be affected. If we do our business … take care of our patients … all will turn out well. Good Luck!
January, February and March of 2009 will go down in my
history of lecturing as the busiest time in my career! The reason for this
explosion of lecturing is in the hands of American Orthodontics! J Why? Because it coincided with their
international managers meetings in Europe, then
The lectures in Europe included meetings in
Later in February I traveled to
All in all, I had the wonderful opportunity to see old friends and meet many new ones as we spread the word on The Discipline. Occasionally, I am asked why I continue having such a busy schedule at this time in my career. Why don’t I get on my horse and “ride off into the sunset”? Why? As long as I have something to teach … and doctors want to learn it … I hope to continue on my journey. I believe this is critical time in the history of orthodontics. With such excessive advertising hype and media pushing unproven techniques, someone out there needs to deliver the message that basic fundamental principles still have great merit when it comes to results and long term stability.
Now I am preparing for the AAO Meeting in
February 2009
We are off to a
great start for 2009….
My new relationship with American Orthodontics (AO) is developing at a fast pace. There are AO sponsored lectures scheduled all over the world and AO has completed the design of an extraordinary brochure for the Alexander LTS System and the 20 Principles of the Alexander Discipline. You can request a brochure from: www.americanortho.com
My travels have also allowed me to hear many good reports
on my second book, The 20 Principles of the Alexander
Discipline. Contact
Quintessence Publishing to order it: (www.quintpub.com)
The book provides an excellent resource to my lectures and stimulates good discussions for all who read it.
As usual we had an advanced course in January here in our
office in
The next course in
EUROPEAN LECTURES
I have just completed a European lecture tour:
ASIAN LECTURES
Next on the world tour is:
I look forward to seeing many old friends and making many new friends as my schedule will take me to places I’ve been before, but also on some new adventures. Be sure to say “hi” to me if I am in your city.
Oh…and don’t forget about the 2009 AAO
meeting. I hope you are planning
to attend in
My topic is “HIGH STANDARDS with TIME TESTED MECHANICS”.
On to the future! December 2008
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Someone once said that the older you get, the faster time flies. This has certainly been true for this year ... 2008. Maybe it is because we were all so busy this past year. :)
Although the world is in an economic downturn, I am optimistic that we as orthodontists will weather the storm better than most. Reflecting back to the past during my career, when the economy went down, my practice felt very little change. Even in bad times parents will continue to focus on their children. So be positive and give your best to your patients.
It has been a great year for the "Discipline." Happily, I reached an agreement with American Orthodontics. We have been working hard to produce for you the latest and best brackets, archwires, etc. Next year should be a good year with AO sponsoring many lectures and meetings. This year we have given courses
in
Our website popularity continues to amaze me. We average between 5 and 10 NEW hits per day ... from all over the world. This kind of encouragement enforces my belief that our discipline is becoming more popular as time goes by. I have been told the "low friction", self ligation systems are beginning to be less popular since it is so difficult to finish the case. This is where the Discipline shines!
And I receive individual emails from doctors from around the world routinely. Thank God for the internet. It allows us to all be one big happy family.
As an example, our good friend,
Ivan Goryalov from
2009 will be a year of opportunity! Let us all make a pledge to produce the very best orthodontics possible on our patients. And we must keep in touch! Write me if you have any comments, questions or concerns.
I look forward to seeing you next year!
Merry
Christmas & Happy New Year!
Wick
October 2008
TIME passes so quickly …
when you are having FUN!
2008 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
It is already October, the ADI
Symposium in
Hosted by my dear friend, Marko
Perkovic, the Symposium location and weather were just fantastic! Elsewhere
you can see some photos taken during the Symposium. The program included
outstanding lectures from 12 orthodontists from throughout the world. I must
admit my extreme bias, but the patient cases presented by these doctors
almost brought tears to my eyes … some of the highest quality results
one could imagine! These lectures included doctors from
Those who went on the sightseeing
trip the day after the meeting were surprised to see the beautiful country
… but, mostly excited with the eating (and drinking Marko’s wine)
and singing each of our nation’s national anthems. The evening was
highlighted with a football (i.e. soccer) game that we played together! The
good news was that a few of us had only minor injuries.
So much love and respect between
our international friends was demonstrated.
Many thanks to Becky Davis for
her efforts in organizing the Symposium and being available to see that the
program ran very smoothly!
My first lecture tour sponsored
by American Orthodontics occurred the last two weeks of September. The
lecture subject was “When does a Nonextraction Orthodontist
Extract?”
We began in
Next, I traveled to
OCTOBER 2008
A busy month is planned, including:
·
The Principles Course
- Oct. 9 -10 in
·
Teaching at NYU 16,
17 & 20th. Then my annual trip to
On to the future!
Summertime
in
July and August
are traditionally known as the “Dog Days of Summer.” The
temperature is hot and there is very little rain.
But we have the
perfect time of the year to follow …September and football! J
Orthodontically,
these days are passing quickly as we are organizing many international
courses with the guidance of American Orthodontics (AO). When I signed on
with AO, I knew they were exposed internationally, but I was unaware to what
extent. Courses have already scheduled for me in Western and
2008 Alexander Discipline International
Symposium – Opatija, Croatia
The ADI
Symposium in
The meeting will
be Sept. 5-6, 2008. Last minute registration is still possible.
July 2008
Dr. Alexander’s new
affiliation with American Orthodontics, he will be traveling extensively in
September, October, and November of 2008. We will keep you posted as the
specific locations of the lectures are decided. Check here for the posted
dates: Lecture Schedule 2008
June 2008
The AAO meeting in
A standing room only audience
counted more than 1800 doctors. But, as a father, the real thrill was to
listen to my son, Chuck, as he and his group discussed Interdisciplinary
Treatment. Of course, it was a great presentation! He made his father very
proud! J
Also at the meeting my second
book, 20 Principles of the Alexander
Discipline, was introduced by Quintessence. We are very happy with the
final result. I want to acknowledge my staff, Elisa San Juan and
Many of you know that I
terminated my contract with Ormco last year. After having many in depth
conversations with several outstanding companies, happily I have decided to
work with AMERICAN ORTHODONTICS (AO). AO provides quality products and I know
you will be pleased if you decide to work with them, too. Their website is: www.americanortho.com
At this time we are discussing
possibilities of future products … brackets, archwires, etc. Of course,
our goal is to continue to make the mechanics more efficient while
maintaining the same quality results demanded by the Alexander Discipline. Now….on
to the future!
April 2008
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Only 3 weeks until the AAO in
Quintessence tells me that the
new book will definitely be available at the meeting. It is being printed in
For more information,
“Click here to order” on the ADI website.
Remember, I will be talking about
“Missing Teeth” on Saturday, May 17, 1:15pm.
My son, Chuck, will be lecturing
on Tuesday, May 20 at 2 pm. His subject is “Multidisciplinary
Treatment”. You will like it!!! J
Upcoming Courses:
The Advanced Course will be held
in June 26-27 at our office in
Check details in the
“Upcoming Courses” section of the ADI website.
The ADI International Symposium
plans in
I have recently been interviewed
by “Topics in Orthodontics,” an audio presentation sponsored by
the AAO. The subject is “Difficult Decisions with Missing Teeth.”
The tape presentation will be available through the AAO next month. Also, be
looking for an article on the same subject in a future issue of J.C.O.
My discussions with other
orthodontic companies are progressing along. It looks like we have narrowed
it down to two companies. I am hoping to make a decision by the time we go to
the AAO.
Thank you for browsing our website. Welcome to the first
addition of “Chat Room” to help you keep up to date with what is
going on in the Alexander Discipline.
First some very Exciting News!!!
After several years of effort, and much support from my
staff of Elisa
Speaking of the AAO, I will be lecturing on Saturday
Dr. Wick teaching his grandson how to
shake hands afternoon, May 17th. My
subject is “Difficult Decisions
As some of you know, my relationship with Ormco ended last
year. It was a difficult decision for me, but it was something I had to do.
This resulted in canceling several lectures across the world.
Since that time, I have been in discussions with several
other orthodontic companies. These include American, Unitek, GAC, Lancer and
I am hoping that a final decision can be made in the next
few months. We will keep you informed.
Also ...
Time is slipping away in regards to registering for the
2008 International ADI Symposium in
We really need to know your plans, so contact Becky at bdavis05@swbell.net for a registration form and to let us know that you are
coming!
Have a great spring,
Wick
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