World Federation of Orthodontists’ first Honorary Fellow (awarded in 1995), Professor Fujio Miura Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Dr. Fujio Miura passed away March 4, 2018 in Tokyo at the age of 92.
Dr. Miura graduated from the prestigious Tokyo National Medical and Dental School in 1947 and was admitted to the Department of Orthodontics under Professor Shinjiro Takahashi. Dr. Miura had an exceptionally sharp intellect as a scientist and an excellent clinician. He had a special interest in research on the physiological aspects of orthodontics and in particular on masticatory muscle function. He was one of the first to use electromyography to study oral function. “It was very difficult to use manufactured electrical equipment and materials for experiments in the days right after the second world war,” said Dr. Miura. “So, I had to make the recording equipment for jaw movement and also needle electrodes to pick-up electromyographic recordings by myself.”
Dr. Miura obtained a doctorate (Medical) in 1957. He became an associate professor in the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University in the same year. In 1962, after Professor Takahashi retired, Dr. Miura took over the professorship at the Department of Orthodontics (1962-1991). During his time, two world-famous areas of research were developed in his orthodontic department. The first area of study was the development of a direct bonding system to place brackets directly on tooth enamel replacing the use of orthodontic bands and existing dental cements. This idea had been a dream of orthodontists for a long time, however, no one succeeded to have a reliable bonding system before Dr. Miura. The second area of clinical research was equally impressive and impactful to the orthodontic world. Dr. Miura’s studies focused on tissue response after applied orthodontic forces. He thought there should be an optimum force for specific tooth movement. He studied different patterns of stress-strain characteristics produced in different kinds of orthodontic wire. Dr. Miura found that Nickel-Titanium wire showed a constant force level even when changing stress level, a so-called super-elasticity. Today, orthodontists throughout the world use this Ni-Ti wire with its other characteristic of shape memory.
Professor Miura received many prestigious awards including the Medal of Purple Ribbon in 1989 and the Third Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the Emperor of Japan in 1995. From the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation, he received the Louise Ada Jarabak Memorial International Teacher and Research Award in 1984 and from the American Board of Orthodontics, the Albert H. Ketcham Award in 1998. The International Association for Dental Research awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in 2007.
In all aspects, professional and personal, Professor Fujio Miura will be appreciated for who he was and will be sorely missed.
Submitted by:
Professor Emeritus Takayuki Kuroda
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
WFO Founding Executive Committee
Member WFO Honorary Member