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History of the AOSG
The Arizona Orthodontic Study Group is one of the oldest orthodontic study groups in the country. Originally called the Arizona Orthodontic Society, this group formed as an offshoot of the Texas Tweed Group founded in 1946. The Texas Tweed Group had stemmed from colleagues meeting at the Tweed course wanting to share information and learn from each other.
Before the Arizona Orthodontic Society’s official inception, informal meetings of what would be the founding members of the society had been held since 1943. While some of these meetings were combined with hunting and camping, plaster study models were always present. Upon the official creation of the Arizona Orthodontic Society, meetings became more formal and would alternate locations in member offices in Phoenix and Tucson. Meetings were always a combination of social gathering and formal discussion of orthodontics.
With few formal orthodontic training programs in existence in the 1950’s, many members of the Arizona Orthodontic Society also took on teaching roles through the preceptor program. This orthodontic training program allowed dentists to apprentice with an established orthodontist for three years and then establish their own specialty credentials by passing an examination. With the strong influence of Charles Tweed in Arizona, many preceptors came to Arizona to learn the edgewise technique. Due to growing frustrations with members altering his technique and his increased focus on the Tweed Foundation, Tweed eventually left the group.
By 1970, the American Association of Orthodontists dissolved the preceptor program in favor of university based training and then in 1978 the Arizona Orthodontic Society changed its name to the Arizona Orthodontic Study Group.
Today, the Arizona Orthodontic Study Group meets once a month in central Phoenix. Meetings alternate between speaker presentations where leaders in the field are brought in to discuss topics related to orthodontics and “model sessions” where members bring in difficult cases and receive input on how best to treat them. Given the diverse educational backgrounds of its members, many feel they learn as much from each other than anything else.
The Arizona Orthodontic Study Group has a long history of supporting the Arizona orthodontic community and believes it is important to continue that support in the future. For more information, please contact us.
