Asst. Prof. George Kanavakis
George Kanavakis is an Assistant Professor of Orthodontics in the School of Dentistry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. He is also a Senior Lecturer (Privat Dozent) at the University of Basel, Switzerland and a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthodontics at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics and a full member of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists.
Dr. Kanavakis is a graduate of the School of Dentistry at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He holds a postgraduate certificate in Temporomandibular Disorders and Orofacial Pain, a Master of Science, and a postgraduate certificate in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics from Tufts University, School of Dental Medicine in Boston, MA. He also holds a doctorate degree from the University of Bern, Switzerland and a PhD from the University of Oulu in Finland.
Dr. Kanavakis has published more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed orthodontic journals, has co-authored three book chapters and is a reviewer for more than 15 orthodontic publications. His main research interests focus on Factors affecting the Perception of Facial Appearance, Three-Dimensional Facial Analysis, 3D Imaging, as well as the use of skeletal anchorage in orthodontic clinical practice.
Topic: Human evolution and orthodontics
Evolution is a slow process that leads to gradual phenotypic changes in living organisms. Environmental and behavioral factors play a large role in steering this process by stimulating adaptations in organismal form. In humans, evolutionary changes have largely affected the form of the skull, the face, the maxillo-mandibular complex and the teeth. It is often suggested that deviations in the number and the size of teeth may be a phenotypic expression of human evolution. This talk will focus on associations between various dental phenotypes and craniofacial form in order to explore the assumption that the evolutionary process in humans is still active. Within this context, clinical cases exhibiting uncommon dental phenotypes will be discussed and available treatment options will be presented.