Jonathan Alexander Abt is a registered specialist in orthodontics who trained at the Royal London Hospital, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, New York University, and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. As an expert in his field, he has had several papers published throughout his career, including his investigation into the relationship of the curve of Spee to skeletal pattern, which appeared in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics in 1993.
The paper was based on a pilot study, which tested the hypothesis that there is an association between the shape of the curve of Spee and the growth rotations of the mandible. The study consisted of 41 patients, each of whom were assigned to one of Sassouni’s skeletal categories – which can be broken down into horizontal – Class I-III – and vertical – high, low and normal angled skeletal patterns. The patients were also measured for the horizontal and vertical coordinates of their buccal cusp tips and the incisal edges of their teeth. Also measured was the area beneath the entire curve of Spee, as well as the posterior section of the curve only.
The results of the investigation found that the area under the entire curve of Spee was a strong predictor of the vertical skeletal pattern; however, the same was not true of the horizontal skeletal pattern. Patients considered low angle cases were associated with the highest areas, whereas patients considered high angle cases were associated with the lowest areas and normal angle cases correlated with intermediate areas. The area under the posterior position of only the curve was a better predictor of vertical skeletal patterns than the entire area under the curve of Spee, and this research can be used to predict the potential for orthodontic levelling relapses.
Other publications that Jonathan Alexander Abt has authored include ‘Apparent Hypodontia: A Case of Misdiagnosis’ which was published in 1999; ‘Do What You Say and Say What You Do: Our Journey to Becoming the First UK Specialist Orthodontic Practice to Achieve ISO9001: 2008 Certification’, published in 2010; and most recently, ‘Resin-modified Glass Ionomer Cement Versus Composite for Orthodontic Bonding: A Multicare Single-Blind, Randomised Controlled Trial’, published in 2019.