Dr Peter Powell VAUGHAN. BDS Syd. Uni., MDSc Syd.Uni., MApplSc CSU. Specialist Orthodontist, 41 Griffiths Street, Charlestown, 2290, NSW.

Tel.: +61 2 4942 5244.

Orthodontics is the art and science of straightening and aligning teeth. Simplistically it involves what we all term as “braces”, but in the broader sense it involves the correction of abnormally growing faces as much as straightening smiles. The nature of orthodontics ranges from the simplistic to the complex, with typical patients comprising what likely all of us are; normal, healthy, happy Australians, with simple problems easily fixed.

Not all people are simple though, and true specialist orthodontists are able to cater for a wide variety of complex cases resulting in the creation of normal faces and a normal arrangement of teeth. In Australia, the nature of orthodontics is such that only a cherished few practitioners are truly able to clinically manage the vast human expression of abnormal faces. Rarer too are orthodontic practitioners who have the interest, the energy, the training, the expertise, the experience, the resources, the imagination, and most importantly the relationships with co-specialist practitioners that can ultimately produce “beautiful normality” for all their patients.

Peter, for so many and varied reasons, is one of those ideal orthodontists, and happily practices in the Hunter region of NSW. His altruism is that he seeks to always be better, to formulate new approaches to care for clients who are exquisitely unique, and to provide treatments which are timely, and affordable.

Read more on the following cases co-treated by Dr Vaughan...

This 19 year old female never developed her upper right lateral incisor. This common condition lead to a shift of her maxillary midline, which ultimately was correctedfor by her orthodontist; he created a lateral incisor "space" for later implant replacement, and to provide for smile symmetry. The space was temporarily filled by a Maryland bridge, incorporated into a fixed orthodontic retainer wire. This temporary aesthetic measure allowed for bone grafting, and then later implant replacement to the area... Read more

This 35 year old female complained of chronic jaw joint aches, and inability to properly chew. She was originally referred to have an orthodontic bite splint made because her dentist assumed her problems to arise from unconscious nocturnal grinding.The surgeon instead suggested to have her teeth straightened and have her jaw advanced surgically to provide for a normal bite... Read more

This 23 year old male originally presented only for wisdom teeth removal. The lower jaw was extremely short, and the teeth so crowded, that there was simply no room for the lower wisdom teeth to erupt; and so they were impacted and infected. The surgeon suggested that the patient consider orthodontics follow wisdom teeth surgery, but the patient seemed worried over the prospect of previous advice which was simply to remove the crowded upper teeth to create "room". The surgeon suggested that he reconsider orthodontics (but without the need for premolar extractions), and to consider instead jaw advancement surgery... Read more

This 13 year old boy had a significant under development of the lower jaw. The lower jaw was so short, that his teeth did not meet at all, leaving almost no ability to chew or bite... Read more

This 14 year old boy had a significant underset jaw, with upper teeth becoming unprotected by the recessed lower lip, and leading to increased rates of knocks and chipping... Read more

This 12 year old boy had  a significantly retruded lower jaw, leading to his lower teeth biting into the palate and gums behind the upper front teeth.The upper teeth were significantly prominent or "bucky" and were a chief cause of schoolyard bullying. Surgery occurred just prior to school holiday break up... Read more

This 14 year old boy has a significantly retruded lower jaw. Surgery to lengthen the jaw was gradual over ~10 days, and braces followed shortly after the distractors were removed. Braces were finally removed 12 months after initial jaw distraction surgery at age 15... Read more

This 18 year old girl had never developed her left lower second premolar tooth. The orthodontist wanted to have the deciduous molar removed, and to move the permanent first molar into the tooth space, but the length of movement was considerable, and the forces were more likely to move her front teeth backwards, than her back teeth forwards. A traction screw was employed to provide a stable anchorage, and gradually the first molar was moved into ideal position... Read more

This 15 year old, but skeletally well developed female, had a long lower jaw, which had caused her lower anteriors to be forward of her upper anterior teeth. Classically treated only with orthognathic jaw correction surgery, traction screws were instead employed to "pull-back" the entire lower arch to help approximate a normal Class I occlusion. In this way she avoided major orthognathic corrective surgery... Read more