Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2017 - 35

Faculty Files

that it was 18 years since the U.S. had liberated
Italy from Germany in World War II. For Dr.
Dischinger, it is still surreal.
When Dr. Dischinger returned from the Olympics,
he was drafted for the NBA but he could not play
full-time. He came from a family that placed
deep value on scholastic growth, so graduating
from college was very important to him. A professional team in Chicago drafted Dr. Dischinger,
who could only play part-time for the first half of
the season until he graduated. A special contract
was drafted to specify that Dr. Dischinger could
play on weekends and holidays for the first part
of the season. He was the only part-time NBA
player ever; a new rule was made thereafter to
prohibit the practice. He was honored by the NBA
players and voted Rookie of the Year in 1962 and
1963. Dr. Dischinger made three All-Star teams
and played in the NBA for nine years. Leaving
behind a lasting impression and an amazing
legacy for the next generation of basketball players and athletes all over the world, Dr. Dischinger
then set out for yet another remarkable journey
in a whole new field. His innate compassion and
dedication drew him to the healthcare industry.

Dr. Dischinger with the Olympic
Gold Medal. The outfit and the
gold medal are the centerpiece of
an amazing display of collectibles
showcased in his beautiful office
in Portland, OR. His son, Dr. Bill
Dischinger, has taken over and
expanded the practice.

Winter 2017  PCSO Bulletin

Second Career: Dentistry and Orthodontics
During the last three years of his basketball
career, Dr. Dischinger studied during the summers at the University of Tennessee School of
Dentistry. He retired from basketball and finished
his dental training and was valedictorian of his
graduating class. The last year of Dr. Dischinger's
NBA play was in Portland, OR. He spent one year
at the Veteran's Hospital in Portland; soon after
he was accepted into the orthodontics program
at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OSHU).
He had a wonderful learning experience at OHSU.
Orthodontic Philosophy: Class II Correctors
Early in his orthodontic practice, which started
in 1977, Dr. Dischinger used several removable
functional appliances such as the Bionator and

Frankel. During this time, he was introduced
to Dr. James McNamara's research on rhesus
monkeys1,2 and was fascinated by the reported
changes in condylar growth and remodeling.
When fixed Class II correctors were introduced,
he followed Dr. Hans Pancherz's research on
these appliances.3,4 Dr. Dischinger has used fixed
Class II correctors extensively since then, and he
has published multiple articles comparing
removable vs. fixed Class II correctors5 as well as
comparing fixed appliances such as the Herbst,
MARA, and AdvanSync with each other.6,7 After
exploring various methods of mandibular
advancement using Herbst appliances, Dr.
Dischinger developed his own protocol and published several articles on his research team findings.8,9 His research team reported that the
glenoid fossa relocated in an anterior and inferior
direction during early treatment with the edgewise crowned Herbst appliance, and this position
remained stable in the long term. They concluded
that treatment of Class II malocclusion with the
edgewise crowned Herbst appliance in early
mixed dentition was accomplished by adaptive
forward changes in the glenoid fossa during the
entire treatment period.
Over the past few years, Dr. Dischinger has
worked with the developers at ORMCO Corporation to improve the design of the Herbst. With
the goal of improving the comfort of Class II
orthopedic outcome, a more compact design was
developed with the AdvanSync. The ability to
bond the 5-5 dentition segment allows for concurrent leveling and aligning alongside Class II
correction, thereby shortening the overall treatment duration. Dr. Dischinger has only used
AdvanSync with Damon brackets with no lingual
arches and no transpalatal arches; he seldom
found the need for palatal expanders. Besides
producing consistent, stable results, he finds this
approach very comfortable for the patient.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2017