Richard is widely regarded as an expert in both orthodontic skeletal anchorage, and in 3D software and printing applications in clinical orthodontics. He developed the InfinitasTM mini-implant system (in 2007) which is the most widely used bone anchor in the UK and currently sold in over 50 countries. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed clinical and research papers, plus two editions of his textbook: ‘The Orthodontic Mini-implant Clinical Handbook’. Richard created a clinical protocol for (palatal alveolar) mini-implant assisted molar intrusion and established the UK’s leading one-day hands-on mini-implant teaching course. He has lectured across the world on mini-implants and more recently on 3D printing in orthodontics.
Richard was a NHS hospital-based consultant orthodontist in Peterborough, 2001-2017, with a large orthognathic and complex caseload. In 2018 he created the Priestgate Clinic, a bespoke multi-disciplinary clinic, in order to concentrate on patient-focussed services, clinical efficiency and the integration of rapidly evolving 3D imaging and digital technologies. This has resulted in recent innovations such as CAD-CAM mini-implant stents, virtual orthognathic wafer preparation and the digital Twin Block appliance.
Richard has also acted as an associate editor for the Journal of Orthodontics, a referee for eight orthodontic journals, and a Royal College of Surgeons (England) examiner for the Membership in Orthodontics (Morth) specialist qualifying examination. He’s a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the British Orthodontic Society, the Royal College of Surgeons of England (Faculty of Dental Surgery) and the World Federation of Orthodontists.
