The Herbst Appliance

Hans Pancherz, DDS, Odont. Dr. (PhD), received his dental and orthodontic education at the School of Dentistry, University of Lund in Malmö, Sweden. He became a certied specialist in Orthodontics in 1974. In 1976 he finished his PhD thesis on “Long-term effects of activator (Andresen appliance) treatment”. From 1975 to 1985 he was Associate Professor at the Orthodontic Department, University of Lund. In 1985 he was appointed Chair Professor at the University of Giessen, Germany, where he served from 1985 until 2005. Professor Pancherz has published 140 scientic articles, 72 of which deal with the Herbst appliance. He has been invited as lecturer at more than 200 national and international conferences all over the world and has received numerous awards and honors. At the Dental Faculty in Hong Kong, Professor Pancherz served as Honorary Professor in 1996 and 1997 and as Visiting Professor in 2007. He was Keith Godfrey Visiting Professor in Sydney in 1997. Furthermore, he acted as External Examiner for the Masters in Orthodontics in Hong-Kong in 1996 and 1997 and in Sydney in 1997 and 2006. Moreover, he is Editorial Board Member of several orthodontic journals. Professor Pancherz is particularly interested in clinical research, focusing on functional appliances and their effects on growth, electromyography of the masticatory muscles and long-term evaluation of dentofacial orthopedic interventions.

Sabine Ruf, DDS, Dr. med. dent. habil. (PhD) received her dental, orthodontic and scientic degrees from the School of Dentistry, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Germany. In 1994 she obtained her Dr. med. dent. with the thesis entitled: “Facial morphology, size and activity of the masseter muscle”. She became a certified specialist in Orthodontics in 1995. Thereafter, in 2001 she was granted the degree of Dr. med. dent. habil. (PhD) with the thesis entitled “Influence of the Herbst appliance on mandibular growth and TMJ function”. From 2002 to 2005 she served as Professor and Chair of Orthodontics at the School of Dentistry at the University of Berne, Switzerland. Since October 2005 she has been Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthodontics at the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen. Professor Ruf has published 50 articles, 20 of which deal with the Herbst appliance. She has been an invited lecturer at 50 national and international conferences and has received several awards and honors. Additionally, she was active as Visiting Professor at the Dental Faculty at Hong Kong University in 1997, were she also served as External Examiner for the Masters in Orthodontics in 2005. Furthermore, she is Editorial Board Member of several orthodontic journals and was Meeting President of the German Orthodontic Society in 2007. Professor Ruf is especially interested in clinical research, focusing on functional appliances and their effect on masticatory muscle and TMJ function.