16-th september 2023 - Sofia, Grand Hotel Milenium, Leonardo Da Vinci Hall 10.00h - 17.00h

National Meeting of Bulgarian Orthodontic Society

Won Moon, DMD, MS
Professor, Department of Orthodontics, Ajou University School of Medicine
Adjunct Professor, The Forsyth Institute
Adjunct Professor, Kyung Hee University
Former Thomas R. Bales Endowed Chair in Orthodontics, UCLA (2013-2020)
Founder, the Moon Principles International Research Institute
Co-Founder, BioTech Innovations
Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, since 2002

Dr. Won Moon is the Founder/CEO of the Moon Principles Institute ("the MoonLab") and a Co-founder/Chief Innovations Officer of BioTech Innovations. He served as the Thomas R. Bales Endowed Chair in Orthodontics for the orthodontic residency program at UCLA School of Dentistry (2013-2020), and he currently holds three academic positions: Full-Professorship at Ajou University School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professorship at the Forsyth Institute and Kyung Hee University. He has been a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics since 2002.

He completed his dental education at Harvard and orthodontic education at UCLA. He studied mathematics prior to dentistry. His work has been published in various journals, not necessarily limited to orthodontics because of his physical science background, and he is a co-author of seven textbooks, including the Graber's 7th Edition. He has presented these findings in over 42 countries, totaling over 550 presentations. He received multiple research grants during his tenure at UCLA, including the Groundbreaking Research Project Grant Award in 2014. Besides the numerous research and presentation awards over the years, he has received the "Faculty of the Year Award" multiple times, and he was the recipient of the "Lifetime Achievement and Faculty Dedication/Excellence Award" in 2019 and the "Best Mentor Award" in 2022. His current focus has been establishing protocols for orthopedic corrections with MI, improving the airway for patients with nasal obstruction, creating virtual patients utilizing image analysis and FEM, and developing a novel Aligner System.

His interest in mid-facial expansion began in 2004 as micro-implant became available in the USA, and he is responsible for developing Maxillary Skeletal Expander (MSE), a unique micro-implant assisted rapid palatal expander (MARPE). He has been active in advocating non-surgical skeletal expansion in both children and adult patients, especially for those who may suffer from airway restrictions. His presentation in MSE has been widely accepted internationally, and numerous peer-reviewed publications are available.

Course Title:
The Moon Principles by Won
The latest developments with Midfacial Skeletal Expander (MSE) and how to minimize MSE failures: what we have learned after two decades of traveling uncharted territory

Course Description:
The non-surgical Maxillary Skeletal Expander (MSE) has evolved since early 2000, and its application has been growing globally. With the proliferation of MSE-related publications by multiple authors, there is clear evidence to support its impact. However, the success of MSE was not always predictable, especially for mature male patients. Over the last two decades, enormous efforts have taken place in attempts to further understand determining factors. Through clinical studies, computer simulations, and innovative treatment modifications, many of those challenging cases now can be safely treated without significant complications. During the two decades of journeying through the uncharted territory of non-surgical midfacial expansion in mature patients, not only have traditional paradigms been defied, but many initial MSE concepts have also required adjustment. Often, failures would result from misusing the appliance. Although it is easy to dismiss the value of MSE after a few unsuccessful cases, a true pioneer would try to understand the reasons for the failures. In this presentation, various ways to accommodate patients with extremely thick or thin palatal bones, narrow palatal vault, massive zygoma, palatal torus, skeletal asymmetry, etc. will be discussed. Application of digital workflow in MSE fabrication and MSE modification could also enhance the success of MSE treatment in difficult cases. Furthermore, for extremely difficult cases, various minor surgical procedures that could aid MSE will be discussed. By applying these innovative protocols, the traditional SARPE can be largely eliminated. Although the outcomes of MSE treatment may not always be predictable at this point in time, significant progress has been made by forward-thinking investigators, and the MSE technique will continue to evolve.
Clinical cases involving non-surgical midfacial expansion in both adolescent and adult patients will be examined in detail. Through these clinical examples, a proper MSE fabrication and updated expansion protocols will be illustrated. Secondly, other advantages of utilizing MSE will be demonstrated. Clinical cases and research findings illustrating the profound enlargement of nasal airways and functional improvements after MSE in both adolescent and adult patients will be closely evaluated. Furthermore, the airflow improvements will be illustrated by the dynamic airflow measurements directly from the patients and also by the computational fluid dynamics model simulations. The airway obstruction and the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) are related but the true impact of MSE for OSAS has not been clearly defined. The latest findings regarding the impact of MSE on OSAS will be presented. MSE can also aid in orthopedic correction of Class III cases when combined with a protraction device. Clinical cases combining MSE and facemask (FM) in both growing and mature patients will be discussed, and orthopedic effects will be illustrated. The use of growth modification for young patients and distraction-like protraction techniques for mature patients, in conjunction with this new device, open the door to many new possibilities. Lastly, the utilization of an aligner system after MSE expansion can be beneficial, and the novel aligner system designed for efficient diastema closure will be introduced.

Learning Objectives:
• Overall concept of MSE, Dx and Tx planning, and patient selection
• Craniofacial vs dentoalveolar changes with MSE
• Correct use of MSE: proper appliance fabrication and positioning, utilizing radiographic information and digital workflow
• New activation protocol based on mechanical and biological considerations
• Difficulty level assessment, and subsequent procedure or appliance design modifications for better outcomes
• Updated solution for patients with narrow palates
• Updated patients requiring multiple MSEs
• Asymmetric patients and asymmetric expansion
• Cortopuncture and MSE for challenging cases
• Minor surgical procedures for extremely difficult cases in order to avoid more invasive SARPE procedures
• MSE and airway changes
• Management of Class III high angle cases
• Management of openbite cases with transverse deficiencies
• MSE and maxillary protraction in both young and mature patients
• Troubleshooting and complications

Early bird fee (until 31.08.23)

 Member of BlgOS, BAOS, FEO - BGN 600

 Non-member BlgOS, BAOS, FEO - BGN 800

 Regular fee (after 31.08.23 and onsite)

 Member of BlgOS, BAOS, FEO - BGN 750

 Non-member BlgOS, BAOS, FEO - BGN 800

 Registration and payment at: www.cim.bg

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