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Sectional Systems

The dental arch is broken into sections and using simple Newtonian mechanical principles the sections or individual teeth are pulled, pushed and rotated against each other. This allows pure mechanically sound tooth movements which are essential is the teeth are to be moved long distances or in difficult movements such as intrusion. Developed by Dr Charles Burstone and refined by Birte Melsen, who was Dr Mew’s professor in Denmark where he undertook his speciality, it is considered to be the most dynamic, precise and uses the most consistent forces to move teeth. Once a sectional system has been placed, and refinement adjustment made to check the force system works as well in reality as in the conceptual phase, there is little adjustment required until the tooth movement required has been achieved. Some complex movements or movements that require teeth to be moved large distances should not be rushed or the teeth are likely to be damaged. However most of the components of the brace can be hidden from view within the mouth, and apart from regular cleaning, the mechanism can be largely ignored as the force system moves the teeth.

Upper canine pulled back and de-rotated to fill space, no appliances showing in City Lawyer

Closing space left after teeth lost, allowing the wisdom teeth to erupt normally

Appliances were not visible behind the lips, for talking or smiling, although moving these teeth took time there was minimal hassle

There is no single component of the sectional system, each system is designed and constructed for an individual case and due to its complexity, it is not a common system in use today. Dr Mew most commonly uses the system to;

• Correct very deep bites
• Correct sever rotations
• Move molar teeth forward into a space where a tooth has been lost so that a buried wisdom tooth can be lifted up and into use
• Upright back teeth for optimal bridge placement
• Move individual teeth without moving any other teeth
• Move blocks of teeth to convert a difficult case to an easy case that can be treated with an aligner system such as Invisalign, mainstay of the Prealign system

Sectional system to pull down upper canine for an actor. The system was almost invisible when talking or smiling

Tooth half way down

Tooth almost down

Tooth down, appliance removed and ready for Invisalign treatment to compete tooth alignment