Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2023 - 7

Editorial
approved teams, highlighting the indispensable
role of orthodontics in the care of these patients.
Orthodontists affiliated with teams are involved in
research to advance the subspecialty and including
critically evaluating outcomes. Dr. Kathryn
Preston, craniofacial orthodontist from the Barrow
Cleft and Craniofacial Center in Phoenix, Arizona,
along with Dr. Barbara Sheller, chief of pediatric
dentistry and staff orthodontist at Seattle Children's
Hospital, recently coauthored two papers
on the evaluation of current diagnostic and orthodontic
practices across ACPA-approved teams.4,5
These papers were the result of research supported
by an AAOF Award. For her contributions to
this area, Dr. Preston was awarded the Mazaheri
Young Professional Award from the ACPA in 2022.
The interdisciplinary nature of craniofacial teams
is mirrored in the membership of ACPA. Currently,
plastic surgeons make up 18% of the association,
with speech- language pathology at 16%, orthodontics
and oral maxillofacial surgery each comprising
15%, nursing at 7%, pediatric dentistry at
3%, and other disciplines at 18% of membership.
Because exposure to cleft and craniofacial conditions
varies among residency programs, there are
fellowships in which interested orthodontists can
receive advanced training. Eight such fellowships
exist in the United States, with two located in
PCSO. The University of California, San Francisco
offers a craniofacial fellowship directed by
Dr. Snehlata Oberoi. Children's Hospital in Seattle
offers the other program directed by Dr. Hitesh
Kapadia. Fellowships provide intense clinical
training for patients with clefts and craniofacial
anomalies from infancy through young adulthood:
surgical orthodontics, nonsurgical orthodontics,
nasoalveolar molding, speech prosthetics, with emphasis
on interdisciplinary care coordinated with
plastic surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons,
speech pathologists, and other members of the
team (B. Sheller, email communication, May 2023).
Individuals who complete these fellowships become
especially suited to serve on interdisciplinary
teams or pursue positions in an academic or hospital
setting. These fellowships provide an invaluable
resource for individuals wanting to focus their
clinical practice on the care of these patents.
The AAO and the AAO Foundation collaborate to
support the Craniofacial Anomalies and Special
Care Training Award for orthodontists seeking
additional training in this important area of
teaching and practice. Previous recipients of this
award from the PCSO include Dr. Richard Solem
and Dr. Vensa-Lea Ferrer.
My personal experience with the workings of a
craniofacial team came as a young faculty member
in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
orthodontic section beginning in 1979. I had been
introduced to Dr. James Mulick in 1975 as a dental
student, and upon returning to UCLA to teach,
I would often accompany Jim to the team clinic in
the Medical Center. I remember observing the famous
maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Paul Tessier operate
on patients in one of his regular trips to Los Angeles
from his home in Paris, France. Dr. Tessier is considered
the father of modern craniofacial surgery,
especially related to patients with craniosynostosis.6
Dr. Mulick graduated from the orthodontic program
at the University of Washington in 1961 and
returned to Southern California to practice. He
was one of the first members of the craniofacial
team at UCLA even before the dental school was
founded and also was one of the original faculty
members in the UCLA orthodontic section.
I interviewed Jim in the PCSO Bulletin's " Portrait of
a Professional " in the fall of 1993.7
In that interview,
he divulged that from 1962 to 1965, the team saw
17 patients in total, the same amount that the
team then saw in one day. Jim credited Dr. Ken
Kahn, who ran a cleft palate clinic at the University
of Washington, for sparking Jim's interest in this
area.
In 2005, the James F. Mulick DDS MS Orthodontic
Scholarship was established by ACPA member
Dianne (Mulick) Altuna in memory of her father.
In honor of Dr. Mulick's lifetime (>50 years) dedication
to patient care and the teaching of residents,
Summer 2023 PCSO Bulletin
7
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2023
