CHARLES TWEED

Dr Charles Tweed was born in Phoenix, Ariz, on June 24, 1895. He attended Phoenix public schools, Stanford University, and he graduated from the University of California College of Dentistry with a DDS in 1919. He returned to Arizona and practiced general dentistry in Ray, Ariz, until 1927.

In 1927 he attended the Angle Orthodontic Course in California given by Dr George Hahn and other Angle School graduates. He was selected by Dr Angle to assist in preparing the edgewise bracket for introduction and manufacture. This work established a close relationship between Dr and Mrs Angle and Charles Tweed.

Dr Tweed returned to Phoenix to practice orthodontics and while there, at the urging of Dr Angle, was instrumental in the passage of an orthodontic speciality law for Arizona, the first such law in the United States. Dr Tweed practiced in Phoenix, Ariz, for seven years, and then moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he remained in active practice until his death in 1970.

Recognized as the greatest clinical orthodontist of his time, Dr Tweed spent his professional life improving the art and science of orthodontics. Dr Tweed found Angle’s methods to be unsatisfactory, creating many distorted facial profiles, and resulting in unstable alignments of the teeth, as well as causing an unhealthy tissue environment. These findings caused Dr Tweed to begin the elimination of teeth to better harmonize tooth material to the underlying bone. He strived to place the teeth in an upright position over the bone, making every effort to give each patient a pleasing, balanced, and harmonious facial profile. His success led to international acclaim and set a pattern for all orthodontic specialists. His standards of excellence have given guidance and direction to the specialty, and his philosophy of treatment set ethical and moral goals that should be followed by all orthodontists of the future.

His research achievements included: The Normal Inclination of the Mandibular Incisors; The Importance of the Frankfort Mandibular Incisor Angle in Orthodontic Therapy; The Development of the Diagnostic Facial Triangle as a Guide in Determining the Normal Mesio-distal Position of the Teeth in Relation to their Respective Jaw Bones and Head Structure; A Serial Study of Growth Differentiation in the Male and Female; and Growth Trends and Growth Classification.

Dr Tweed’s influence on the orthodontic literature is evidenced by the following 10 publications:

1.The application of the principles of the edgewise arch in the treatment of malocclusions. The Angle Orthodontist. January 1941 (No I and II).

2.Soldering technic for steel arch wire. The Angle Orthodontist. January 1941.

3.Indications for the extraction of teeth in orthodontic procedure. American Journal of Orthodontists and Oral Surgery.

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