William B. Downs (1899–January 13, 1966) was an American

orthodontist Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...

who is known for developing the first

cephalometric analysis Cephalometric analysis is the clinical application of cephalometry. It is analysis of the dental and skeletal relationships of a human skull. It is frequently used by dentists, orthodontists, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons as a treatmen ...

for orthodontics, the Downs analysis.

Life

He was born in 1899 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and was the oldest of three children. He moved to

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the populati ...

in 1904 with his family where his father established his practice as a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial c ...

. Downs went to

Batavia High School (Batavia, Illinois) Batavia High School, or BHS, is a public four-year high school located in Batavia, Illinois. It was created by the merger of West Batavia High School and East Batavia High School (and their separate school districts) in 1911 and is part of Bata ...

and became interested in studying

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. He went to Two Dot, Montana where he oversaw a

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

ranch for his father. Downs then returned to Illinois after two years and enrolled himself in the

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry evolved from the Columbian Dental College, founded in Chicago in 1891. The college informally affiliated with the University of Illinois in 1901, and was chartered as an official college o ...

. He received his dental degree in 1926. He became a professor in the Crown and Bridge Department of the dental school at UIC for the next four years. He then enrolled himself in the first class of graduate

orthodontics Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...

at the dental school and graduated with a master's degree in 1931.''Celebrating A Proud Past: Centennial of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.'' Chicago, Illinois: UIC College of Dentistry Press, 2013, p. 90.

Career

He then taught orthodontics at the UIC College of Dentistry until 1955. Dr. Downs was interested in facial growth and development throughout his career. He worked on the "''Cephalometric Appraisal of Treated Result'' and ''Variations in Facial Relationships: Their Significance in Treatment and Prognosis''. This paper won him first prize from the American Association of Orthodontists in 1948, and it led to the first cephalometric analysis in the field of orthodontics. Dr. Downs developed what is called Downs Cephalometric Analysis, which assesses facial growth and development through the analysis of a Cephalometric Radiographic Image. He was a member of the Chicago Association of Orthodontists and Tweed Foundation, and an officer of the Midwestern Component of the

Edward Angle Edward Hartley Angle (June 1, 1855 – August 11, 1930) was an American dentist, widely regarded as "the father of American orthodontics". He was trained as a dentist, but made orthodontics his speciality and dedicated his life to standardizing ...

Society of Orthodontia. Dr. Downs retired in 1965 due to ill health. The UIC College of Dentistry's William Benham Downs Fund is used to support visits of lecturers in the college's Department of Orthodontics Forum Series.

Awards

* Albert H. Ketcham Award,

American Board of Orthodontics American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) is a non-profit professional association for orthodontists founded in 1929. History The organization was first established as ''the American Board of Orthodontia'' in 1929 and later changed its name to the A ...

, 1961 * Award of Merit, Chicago Association of Orthodontists, 1963 * Executive Council of Angle Society of Orthodontia * Diplomate of American Board of Orthodontics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downs, William B. 1899 births 1966 deaths American dentists Orthodontists People from Batavia, Illinois 20th-century dentists

Life

Career

Awards

See also

References