Ama Johal

Choosing optimal functional appliance in Class II treatment    

Both removable [Twin Block] and fixed functional [Herbst] appliances have proven to be successful in the correction of Class II malocclusions.
However, very few studies have been designed to differentiate between removable and fixed functional appliance designs, with the majority of literature being retrospective in nature and with a clear lack of patient-cantered outcomes.
This presentation will be of interest to ALL clinicians who provide functional appliance therapy to their adolescent patients. As a unique study, we employed mixed research methodology in the form of a randomised clinical trial design to report both patient- and clinician-cantered treatment outcomes and a qualitative research design to explore patient’s perspectives on functional appliance treatment.
The are confident the findings of this landmark study will enlighten your practice.

Aims and objectives

Following my presentation delegates should know:

• The importance of adopting an RCT approach to assess the effectiveness of functional appliance treatment
• The value of qualitative research methodology to best understand the patient's perspective.
• The factors to consider when recommending the type of functional appliance to an adolescent.

Learning outcomes

Following my presentation delegates should be able to: 

• Describe the skeletal and dental effects achieved with Twin Block and Herbst appliances
• Describe the impact of the Twin Block and Herbst functional appliance on a range of Quality of Life outcomes
• Appreciate the role of the patient and their wish for some autonomy with appliance choice.

Speaker biography

Ama Johal is Professor/Consultant Orthodontist, Academic Lead for Orthodontics at Bart's and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary College, University London [QMUL]. He qualified in dentistry at Sheffield University in 1989, with Honours and completed the Membership in Orthodontics (Royal College Surgeons England) and Masters Degree in Orthodontics at QMUL, graduating with distinction in 1996.  He has completed a PhD in the use of mandibular advancement splints in sleep-related breathing disorders. Ama is past Vice-President of the British Society Dental Sleep Medicine, a full member of the Angle Society of Europe and appointed a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

Both his clinical and research work has been rewarded with numerous National and International prizes and grants, including the Turpin Award [2021] from the AAO for Evidence-based Research and the Chapman Award [2022] for best published research from BOS and 2024 B.F. and Helen E. Dewel Award for best Clinical Research publication AJODFO. He is an invited lecturer, both nationally and internationally, with over 125 publications in peer-reviewed International journals and several book chapters.  His research interests include the impact of quality of life in orthodontics and the management of patients with sleep-related breathing disorders. His specialist interests include multidisciplinary care of patients with orthodontic-restorative needs.