IN MEMORIAM

Charles J. Burstone, 1928-2015

O
n February 11, 2015, the world of orthodontics
lost a great pioneer and champion of the spe-
cialty. Dr Charles J. Burstone passed away at
the age of 86 while on a lecture trip in Seoul, Korea.
With his passing, the entire international orthodontic
community continues to mourn and reflect on his great
achievements and life's work. His contributions to our
specialty have shaped orthodontic research and clinical
practice, and his impact will continue to be felt for years
to come.
Charles Burstone was born in Kansas City, Missouri,
on April 4, 1928, to Dr Lester and Rose Burstone. Both
his father and his brother Marvin were dentists. Like
his father and brother, Charles graduated from the
School of Dentistry at Washington University in St Louis,
in 1950. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and served
as a captain in the Dental Corps in Korea during the
Korean War. In 1953, he returned to the United States
and began his studies in orthodontics, receiving his
certificate and master's degree in orthodontics from
Indiana University in 1955. After his specialty training,
he accepted a faculty position at Indiana University, sub- Charles Burstone
sequently becoming the chairman and professor in the
Department of Orthodontics in 1961, and was key in biomechanics, which are required reading in most ortho-
fostering research and advancing the specialty training dontic curriculums worldwide. Dr Burstone is most
in the program. known for the segmental arch technique and for
In 1970, Dr Burstone was recruited to Connecticut defining predictable force systems with his 6 classic
and selected to head the Department of Orthodontics V-bend geometries. He introduced the intrusion arch
at the new dental school at the University of Connecticut for deepbite correction and further defined the useful-
in Farmington. He served as professor and head of the ness of tip-back mechanics for Class II correction and
Department of Orthodontics and chief of Orthodontic molar uprighting. He applied novel biomechanical prin-
Services at John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington from ciples for using transpalatal and lingual arches.
1970 to 1992. He remained at the University of Connect- In addition to his research in physics and engineering,
icut as professor emeritus and was active in teaching Dr Burstone was known for his soft tissue analysis of the
residents until his death. During his years there, Dr Bur- face and cephalometric analysis, which continue to be
stone made pivotal contributions to orthodontics widely used. He also contributed greatly with pioneering
through his research efforts. He received a number of efforts in facial esthetics. As his career continued, Dr
grants from the National Institutes of Health during Burstone's research evolved toward the development
his active academic tenure. His greatest impact was in of new orthodontic materials at the University of Con-
the area of biomechanics, and it was clear that his great- necticut. He studied and defined the material properties
est passions were in engineering and physics. He auth- of a variety of orthodontic wires and codeveloped the
ored and coauthored numerous articles and books on beta-titanium wire. He also developed fiber-reinforced
composite wires for orthodontic applications. His most
recent work was in the area of developing esthetic clear
Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2015;148:190-1 archwires.
0889-5406/$36.00
Copyright Ó 2015 by the American Association of Orthodontists. During his long career, Dr Burstone trained over 250
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2015.04.010 orthodontists at the University of Connecticut and
190
In memoriam
Indiana University. He lectured widely in the United
States and on almost every continent internationally.
He received numerous awards throughout his career.
He received the American Association of Orthodontists
First Research Award in 1956, the John Valentine Mer-
shon Memorial Lecture Award in 1987, and the presti-
gious American Board of Orthodontics' Ketcham
Award in 1999. He was awarded an honorary doctoral
degree from the Royal Dental College, Aarhus, Denmark,
in 1989 and was inducted into the Royal College of Sur-
geons in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1994. In 2012, he was
honored by University of Connecticut with an honorary
doctoral degree at its annual convocation.
Although Dr Burstone was passionate about ortho-
dontics, he had numerous other interests and hobbies.
He enjoyed art, music (especially Wagnerian operas),
and photography. His time in Korea during the war
had a great impact on his life. His photographs and
movies depicted everyday life in times of conflict. The
National Folk Museum in Seoul developed an exhibit
around his images entitled “Korea 1952,” and it was
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
191
incorporated into a documentary shown on national
television in Korea. He was devoted to Korea, and it is
indeed fitting that his last lecture was delivered in Seoul.
A memorial service, held at the University of Con-
necticut on February 27, 2015, was attended by many
of his past students and close friends from around the
world. Dr Burstone devoted his life to the advancement
of orthodontics. The orthodontic community is truly
indebted to him and will continue to mourn the loss of
a teacher, leader, and friend.
Ravindra Nanda
Farmington, Conn
W. Eugene Roberts
Indianapolis, Ind
Editor's note: You can find a link to “Korea 1952” at
the Web site of the World Federation of Ortho-
dontists, http://www.wfo.org/news/wfo-news-media/
burstone-article/.
July 2015  Vol 148  Issue 1