Photo: Aluminium typodont
set in stage 3 banded Begg
Percival Raymond Begg was an Australian dentist who studied under Angle before returning to practice in Australia. Dissatisfied with the techniques available to him he began developing his own bracket design, which was introduced in 1933. It was the first bracket to use single round wires of .016 inch in diameter or less.
Despite these disadvantages, the Begg technique became popular all over the world, with Begg societies forming in Europe, North America, Japan and the Philippines. The first UK course in the technique was held in 1966. Although the technique is no longer commonly used, elements of Begg’s technique have been incorporated into a variety of other orthodontic techniques. In 1956 Begg introduced his multi-loop, light wire, differential force technique, now known as the Begg technique. It used a modified ribbon arch bracket with a gingival facing vertical slot.
The Begg technique used differential force and concentrated on tipping the teeth crowns rather than bodily movement. The roots were torqued at the end of the treatment. This crown tipping technique allowed the correction of large overbites and rapid closure of extraction spaces. The technique required great skill on the behalf of practitioners to keep the movement of the teeth under control, as they could often give the appearance of being over tipped during treatment. In addition the design of the bracket allowed teeth to continue moving and there was no way to hold teeth into their corrected positions. The technique also required a lot of complex wire bending and the construction of springs for individual tooth root correction, making it a time consuming technique.
Begg was also unhappy with the gold wire commonly in use at the time, finding it too expensive and with insufficient forces. In the 1940s, in conjunction with the metallurgist A.J. Willcock, he developed Australian austenitic arch wires. This Australian wire was inexpensive, biocompatible, flexible and resilient.
Photo: Aluminium
typodont set in stage 3 banded Begg
Paul Raymond Begg was an Australian dentist who studied under Angle before returning to practice in Australia. Dissatisfied with the techniques available to him he began developing his own bracket design, which was introduced in 1933. It was the first bracket to use single round wires of .016 inch in diameter or less.
Begg was also unhappy with the gold wire commonly in use at the time, finding it too expensive and with insufficient forces. In the 1940s, in conjunction with the metallurgist A.J. Willcock, he developed Australian austenitic arch wires. This Australian wire was inexpensive, biocompatible, flexible and resilient.
In 1956 Begg introduced his multi-loop, light wire, differential force technique, now known as the Begg technique. It used a modified ribbon arch bracket with a gingival facing vertical slot. The Begg technique used differential force and concentrated on tipping the teeth crowns rather than bodily movement. The roots were torqued at the end of the treatment. This crown tipping technique allowed the correction of large overbites and rapid closure of extraction spaces. The technique required great skill on the behalf of practitioners to keep the movement of the teeth under control, as they could often give the appearance of being over tipped during treatment. In addition the design of the bracket allowed teeth to continue moving and there was no way to hold teeth into their corrected positions. The technique also required a lot of complex wire bending and the construction of springs for individual tooth root correction, making it a time consuming technique.
Despite these disadvantages, the Begg technique became popular all over the world, with Begg societies forming in Europe, North America, Japan and the Philippines. The first UK course in the technique was held in 1966. Although the technique is no longer commonly used, elements of Begg’s technique have been incorporated into a variety of other orthodontic techniques.