Becoming an orthodontist has been Dr. Matthew MacGinnis dream since the third grade.Dr. MacGinnis was born and raised in Orange, CA and attended Villa Park High School. At Villa Park, he captained the varsity basketball team and was honored with 1st team all-Orange County honors in his Junior and Senior seasons. Because of his leadership on and off the court, Villa Park permanently retired his #22 jersey. He went on to attend Point Loma Nazarene University on a basketball scholarship, where he also captained the team during his senior season.
Dr. MacGinnis began his training at the University of Southern Californias School of Dentistry (USC), where he studied four years of dentistry graduating magna cum laude. He then entered the cross-town rival and nationally recognized University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Orthodontics Residency Program, where he received an additional three years of orthodontic specialty training. While at UCLA, Dr. MacGinnis served as the chief resident and trained under and was mentored by Dr. Won Moon.
Dr. MacGinnis received numerous accolades and awards for his skills as a clinician and leader and for his clinical research. Dr. MacGinnis is a board-certified orthodontist, an honor achieved by less than half of practicing orthodontists.
On a personal front, Dr. MacGinnis is married to his wife, Wendy, and they have two wonderful children, Dane & Morgan. When hes not at the office, he enjoys competing in triathlonsand spending time with his family.
Dr. Won Moon is the Founder of the Moon Principles Institute (the MoonLab) and a Co-founder of BioTech Innovation. He served as the Thomas R. Bales Endowed Chair in Orthodontics for the orthodontic residency program at UCLA School of Dentistry (2013-2020), and he currently holds two academic positions: Full-Professorship at Ajou University, and Adjunct Professorship at Forsyth Institute. He has been a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics since 2002. He completed his dental education at Harvard and orthodontic education at UCLA. He studied mathematics prior to dentistry, and his research topics include 3D image analysis utilizing surface mapping functions and Elliptical Fouriers Descriptors, Genomewide Association Study of Craniofacial Phenotypes, Finite Element Model (FEM) Development and Simulation, Applications of 3D Printing in Orthodontics, Orthopedic Correction, Airway Changes with Orthopedic Corrections, Accelerated Tooth Movement, Micro-implant (MI) Design study, Digital Workflow, and Aligner System Development. His work has been published in various journals, not necessarily limited to orthodontics because of his physical science background, and he is a co-author of six textbooks. He has presented these findings in 37 countries, totaling over 450 presentations. He received multiple research grants during his tenure at UCLA, including the Groundbreaking Research Project Grant Award in 2014. Besides the numerous research and presentation awards over the years, he has received the Faculty of the Year Award more times than anyone at UCLA Orthodontic Program, and he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement and Faculty Dedication/Excellence Award in 2019. His current focus has been establishing protocols for orthopedic corrections with MI, improving the airway for patients with nasal obstruction, creating virtual patients utilizing image analysis and FEM, and developing a novel Moon Aligner System.
His interest in aligner systems began in 2010 as the aligner systems became popular, but they had countless shortcomings and could not achieve optimal orthodontic results. He has won the Center Award Grant from the American Association of Orthodontic Foundation (AAOF) in 2018 as a Co-PI of the research project, Standard Characterization of Clear Orthodontic Aligner, and the goal of the project was to develop protocols that can be used to evaluate the mechanical properties of clear aligners. He was also invited as a keynote speaker for the Congress of the Spanish Society of Aligners (SEDA) and National Congress of Italian Aligner Society (SIALIGN) in 2021. He is currently involved in multiple aligner research projects in collaboration with national and international colleagues. He holds multiple patents, three of which are aligner related, and more patents are on the way.
His interest in mid-facial expansion began in 2004 as micro-implant became available in the USA, and he is responsible for developing Maxillary Skeletal Expander (MSE), a unique micro-implant assisted rapid palatal expander (MARPE). He has been active in advocating non-surgical skeletal expansion in both children and adult patients, especially for those who may suffer from airway restrictions. His presentation in MSE has been widely accepted internationally, and numerous peer-reviewed publications are available.
Dr. Lee is an Orange County native and attended UCLA, where she graduated Cum Laude while majoring in Business Economics. After workingas a financial analyst at a Big Four firm, she decided that her passion was actually in working with people and making them smile :). She decided to do a career change and wound up back at UCLA for dental school, graduating with honors from the Department of Orthodontics. She was accepted into one of the top orthodontics residencies, UCSF, where she trained for 3 years in Orthodontics while also obtaining a Masters in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences.
She is married to her husband Daniel, and they have two amazing little girls, Lanora and Leia. When not in the office, you can find her rocking out on the guitar, rock climbing, or appreciating architecture.
No. All orthodontists must be licensed to practice, but at this time only 1 in 3 orthodontists have continued on to complete Board Certification. The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) certification process signifies a unique achievementa significant step beyond the two to three years of advanced education required for a dentist to become a specialist in orthodontics. The process requires the orthodontist to demonstrate actual accomplishments in patient care with detailed case reports on the treatment provided for a broad range of patient problems. Board certification is a voluntary achievement that all orthodontists do not choose to pursue. In order to become board certified by the ABO, an individual orthodontist is thoroughly interviewed by a highly respected panel of examiners to demonstrate their orthodontic knowledge, clinical skills and judgment.
One. The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) is the only certifying board in the specialty that is recognized by the American Dental Association. The ABO was founded in 1929 and is the oldest specialty board in dentistry. The boards purpose is to elevate the quality of orthodontic care for the public by promoting excellence through certification, education and professional collaboration.
Successful completion of the examination process demonstrates the orthodontists highest commitment to excellence in orthodontics to both the orthodontic profession and the general public. It represents a commitment by a licensed specialist that he/she has the necessary knowledge base and skills to treat patients to the highest of standards. It exemplifies a practitioners commitment to continue to keep abreast of the latest advances in patient care, and to continue to deliver these latest advances to patients. Many orthodontists see it as a demonstration of their dedication to the specialty and the highest level of personal achievement.
Since the establishment of the ABO in 1929, the certification process requirements have continued to adjust to the demands of the specialty. Today, the process involves a thorough Written Examination (240 questions) covering all areas of information which an orthodontist should be knowledgeable. Successful completion of this board exam allows the orthodontist to proceed to the Clinical Examination where they present detailed case reports from their practice/residency, demonstrating a history of excellence in patient care. These cases are evaluated by a panel of examiners and later discussed during an oral examination where the applicant is tested on a wide variety of academic and clinical topics. After successful completion of these examinations, the orthodontist has officially achieved Board Certification, for a time-limited period. The orthodontist must go through Certification Renewal every 10 years to maintain their certification status by demonstrating this continued level of patient care.