Martyn Cobourne, Professor of Orthodontics
Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences
King’s College London
Martyn Cobourne graduated from King’s College London School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1990. After a series of junior hospital appointments in Bristol and London he undertook specialty training in orthodontics at King’s College Hospital, obtaining his Membership in Orthodontics in 1997. This was followed by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship in 1998, and a PhD in Developmental Biology at the United Medical and Dental Schools, University of London (2002). Martyn was appointed as a Senior Lecturer and Hon Consultant in Orthodontics at King’s College London Dental Institute in 2004 and promoted to Professor of Orthodontics in 2011. He became Academic Head of Orthodontics in 2016 and currently runs the Academic Training Programme in Orthodontics at King’s College London. His research is primarily focused on the role of molecular signaling pathways during early development of the head and face and he runs a laboratory-based research group in the Centre for Craniofacial Development & Regeneration at KCL.
He is also interested in the effectiveness of contemporary orthodontic treatment interventions and has led a number of randomized controlled trials investigating treatment efficiency. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and is the author of four successful orthodontic textbooks, including the popular Handbook of Orthodontics with Andrew DiBiase. He also hosts a Facebook group with Andrew that has 6k members and together, they run a successful course on Evidence Based Orthodontics. He was Director of Research at the British Orthodontic Society (2012-16) and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Orthodontics from 2012-22. He is an elected board member and previous Senior Vice Dean at the Faculty of Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of England and a full member of the North Atlantic Division of the US Angle Society.
Topic: Managing absent maxillary lateral incisors – do we really need restorative dentists?
Agenesis of the maxillary lateral incisor teeth is a common clinical problem seen on the busy orthodontic clinic. The essential treatment planning decisions are whether to open space and restore the missing tooth units; or close space and substitute the lateral incisors using the canines. This lecture will discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches with an emphasis on the current evidence base. The lecture will be illustrated with treated cases and there will be a strong emphasis on space closure as the preferred treatment option.