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What I Learned:

This business book came highly recommended during a recent interview:

Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday.  

The book argues that power doesn’t always look bold, loud, or obvious.  There are more “conspiracies” and “secrecies” at play (for good or bad), often way before the public witnesses massive change.

Which inspired me to write this week’s article

My favorite “Conspiracy Theory” in orthodontics

….And the massive change I’m conspiring to be part of.

In 1947, two C-54 cargo military planes landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The planes contained “top-secret” material that was to be immediately shipped to Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH.

The material was to be handled, studied, and investigated by famous local scientist Elroy John “E.J.” Center and his team of scientists.

E.J.’s team studied the materials for two years, and in 1949, allegedly released a government document titled Report #13 – On Metal Alloys.   E.J. noted a unique memory-shaped alloy that returned to its original shape, was lightweight, and was highly advanced.  Notably, the report stated titanium might be one of the primary constituent elements.

Researcher and author Anthony Bragalia notes that shortly after, in 1950, titanium became a major government focus in the Department of Defense. 

It was E.J.’s report that determined nickel could also likely be involved to mimic the shape memory property.   To successfully mimic, you needed an exact ratio of nickel and pure titanium processed together via extreme heat. This hadn’t been done before.

Rumor has it that E.J.’s research was shared through many government agencies, including a naval ordinance lab in Maryland.  

This lab, led by Dr. William Buehler and Dr. Fred Wang, continued the alloy research for a specific type of titanium and nickel mix, and in 1962, announced to the scientific community the development of “a new memory-shaping metal” called “NitiNOL” (i.e. Nickel-Titanium-Naval-Ordinance-Lab). It had a perfect 55/45 mix of nickel and titanium.

This announcement caught the eye of many new inventors and innovators—including a young orthodontist in Iowa named Dr. Gerry Andreassen.  

He saw holy grail in biomechanics.  

A new metal that could carry light continuous forces, with long activation ranges, and it returned to its original arch shape!

In 1971, Dr. Andreassen wrote a landmark paper introducing the idea of using NiTi for standard orthodontic treatment.

The rest is history.

….But here’s where things get wild.

E.J. Center, before he passed, allegedly disclosed that the original metals he was studying in 1947 at Battelle couldn’t have been manufactured by the U.S. or anyone else.  No one in the scientific community had seen material like this.  According to E.J., the original metals had “strange hieroglyphics” stamped all over them.

Dr. Fred Wang, of the Navy Ordinance Lab, was involved with other bizarre research for the government.   When asked directly about Nitinol and its connection to Battelle, he didn’t deny, but according to Anthony Bragalia, simply said, “No comment.”  Dr. Wang and Dr. Buehler are still officially known as the ‘founders’ of Nickel-Titanium we use today.¹

—And the two C-54 planes that initially brought the strange materials to Battelle in the first place?

It’s now known that they originated from..

…..Roswell, New Mexico. 

Without putting a tin foil hat on, I’ll let you put the pieces together as you wish.

Internet research will tell you there’s “no hard evidence”, only circumstantial, but its a highly suspicious timeline that a rational person could plausibly make.  

Interpret at will.

—But that’s the fun conspiracy part!

You have all the makings for an incredible story to captivate a 13-year-old boy in the chair of where his NiTi wires might have originated from.

So where do I come in?

In 2015, Dr. Alfred Griffin III developed an orthodontic appliance where NiTi would be the primary, and at times, the only orthodontic wire you would ever need for full treatment.

Make the bracket smart, and let the “memory shape material” distribute the light force, fill the slot, express torque, and perform the challenging movements for you.

And if any bit of the original conspiracy is true…

I might not just be conspiring to promote the a significant advancement in orthodontic appliances here on earth…

I might be conspiring to promote one of the most advanced orthodontic appliances...

… in the galaxy.

Interpret at will.

1  *Source material: Thomas Carey and Donald Schmitt. Inside Wright-Patterson. New Age Books. June 2019. Comments and excepts taken via the quotes of Anthony Bragalia.