ProfessorAli Darendeliler

BDS, PhD, Dip Orth, CertifOrtho, Priv. Doc, MRACDS (Ortho), FICD

Professor M. Ali Darendeliler is Chair of the Discipline of Orthodontics at the Faculty of Dentistry and Head of Sydney Dental Hospital’s Department of Orthodontics. He is an orthodontist, academic and internationally renowned researcher leading a multifaceted research program in orthodontics. His team investigates the mechanics of tooth movement, the effect of orthodontic therapy on biological tissues and root resorption, multidisciplinary management of obstructive sleep apnoea including the use of mandibular advancement splints, temporary anchorage devices, jaw orthopaedics, accelerated tooth movement, bone healing and alveolar ridge development, dental implants, and the use of magnets and magnetic fields in orthodontics. Professor Darendeliler is a recipient of the Australian Society of Orthodontists’ Distinguished Service Award (2008) and P. Raymond Begg Award (2012) for significant contribution to Research (one of only five awarded since the ASO was founded). He is the first Australian to receive the Sheldon Friel Memorial Lecture Award, the highest honour of the European Orthodontic Society, awarded for his significant scientific contribution to orthodontics. He was one of the nine experts worldwide selected to develop international guidelines for postgraduate orthodontic education, and has helped develop guidelines for the use of oral appliance therapy in sleep apnoea.

Professor Darendeliler has worked in Switzerland (University of Geneva) and the USA (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and University of Southern California). He has pioneered many of the advances and led numerous unique studies in orthodontics. He was one of the first to introduce the use of magnetic forces in orthodontics including studies on the biological effects of magnetic fields and the use of static/pulsatic magnetic fields to accelerate bone healing. Professor Darendeliler developed the Magnetic Activator Device used in orthodontic therapy in children (and has since modified the device) and studied the use of magnets as an option for potentially less invasive and less painful management of impacted teeth than prevailing therapies. He is an internationally recognised research leader in root resorption in orthodontics and for his work in obstructive sleep apnoea (in collaboration with Professor Peter Cistulli, Sydney Medical School). Professor Darendeliler boasts a prolific research track record with his department accounting for >50% of the total peer-reviewed articles published by Australian Orthodontic Departments between 2008-2014 (and 2003-2007) [Source: Australian Society for Orthodontists].