Edward Angle

Who was Edward Angle?

Edward Hartley Angle was an American dentist, widely regarded as the father of American orthodontics.

Edward Angle is frequently described as "the father of American orthodontics." He was trained as a dentist, but made orthodontics his speciality and dedicated his life to standardizing the teaching and practice of orthodontics. He founded the Angle School in St. Louis and schools in other regions of the United States,

He was born in Herrick, Bradfour County, Pennsylvania. He studied at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery and became a dentist in 1876. Between 1887 and 1892 he worked as professor of orthodontics at the University of Minnesota. From 1892 to 1898 he was professor of orthodontics at the Northwestern University, Between 1886 and 1899 he was professor of orthodontics at the Marion Sims College of Medicine and from 1897 to 1899 at the Washington University Medical Department. It was in 1899 that he officially limited his practice to orthodontics.

Angle was concerned with the aesthetics of orthodontics as well as functionality and so he collaborated with the artist and art educator Edmund H. Wuerpel in applying aesthetics to his field. The artist and dentist collaborated for many years and Wuerpel lectured frequently at Angle's request, in St. Louis as well as in Pasadena.