Profession Dentist Specialism Orthodontics | Education McGill University | |
Known for Inventor of Lingual Braces and Founding President of the American Lingual Orthodontic Association | ||
Dr. Craven Kurz is an American Orthodontist who is known to be the inventor of the Lingual braces in 1975. He was also the founding President of the American Lingual Orthodontic Association.
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Life
Dr. Cruz was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Canada. He attended University of Saskatchewan for college and obtained his dental degree from McGill University in Montreal . He then attended the Orthodontic Program at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in New York. After that, he established his private practice in Beverly Hills, California and practice there for five years while teaching Orthodontics at UCLA School of Dentistry. Working with celebrities and TV personalities, Dr. Cruz was faced with dilemma of his patients wanted Orthodontic care but without showing that they have braces. Therefore, Dr. Craven invented lingual braces for his patients. He's also published a textbook called Contemporary Lingual Orthodontics.
Dr. Cruz was the founding President of the American Lingual Orthodontic Association.
He died on April 9, 1998 in Beverly Hills.
Lingual Braces
First generation of lingual brackets were launched in 1976. These brackets had a larger profile at first. Orthodontic company Ormcro manufactured the first Kurz Lingual Appliance. The slot size for the first bracket was 0.018 inches.