Hans Pancherz, 1939-2023.

Professor Emeritus Hans Pancherz passed away at the age of 83 years on March 5, 2023. His closest family is his wife Margareta, 2 sons, Alex and Felix, and their families. Hans Pancherz was an orthodontist with heart and soul. When he passed away, the specialty of orthodontics not only lost one of its scientific leaders but also an outstanding human being. He was born on December 3, 1939, in Bogotá, Columbia as a son of German parents. With the beginning of the Second World War, his parents returned to Germany via China and Russia. Hans grew up in Dessau, Germany, and attended school in Ansbach, Germany, until the third grade. In 1948, the family emigrated to Sweden and settled down in Malmö when he graduated in 1959. Soon after that, he opted for Swedish nationality. Professor Pancherz graduated as a dentist at Lund University in Lund, Sweden, in 1965. After that, he worked in general dental practice for 3 years before starting his postgraduate orthodontic training under his teacher Johan Ahlgren at the Faculty of Odontology in Malmö, Sweden, where he graduated as an orthodontist, and, in 1976, defended his doctoral dissertation on the long-term effects of activator treatment. In 1985, Hans and Margareta moved to Germany, where Hans was appointed Professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics of the University of Giessen and Margareta got a position as an associate professor. During his 18 years as chair, he developed his department exceptionally, both clinically and scientifically, leading it to internationally renowned levels. His research mainly focused on how to influence and/or stimulate the growth of the jaws. He reintroduced a special fixed appliance—the Herbst appliance (originally introduced by Emil Herbst in 1909)—which is nowadays recognized as a standard treatment approach in orthodontics. At the end of the 1970s, he coincidentally came in touch with this appliance at the Orthodontic Department in Malmö, Sweden. He immediately recognized the potential of the appliance and saw the possibility of eliminating cooperation as a factor of uncertainty for Class II correction. His unique planning and systematic scientific approach made verifying many aspects of large overjet treatment possible. He consistently strove after his goal, being unimpressed by the initially prevailing criticism on national and international levels. Patients treated with the Herbst appliance were followed for >30 years after treatment, which is unique in orthodontic research, and has provided epoch-making clinically relevant knowledge. Other research fields during his career were long-term orthodontic effects, electromyography of the masticatory musculature, temporomandibular joint function, cephalometry, facial morphology and facial esthetics. Through Hans’ continued unique research that was carried out in an exemplary and structured manner and with high quality, many clinically relevant questions could be answered. The research results have had a major impact, with 180 scientific articles published in leading scientific journals and several textbooks. Hans was a creative and active researcher until his death, with his latest article published in 2023 and a textbook in 2022. Professor Pancherz was an excellent researcher, an inspiring teacher with exceptional didactic talent, and a well-known and highly respected lecturer, often invited as a keynote speaker at international congresses. He participated in >200 international conferences, and his way of presenting research-based applied clinics was exemplary in quality, factual content, clarity and clinical relevance. Despite the intensity with which he pursued research and teaching, he always dedicated much time to clinical orthodontics. The quality of his orthodontic treatment opened the doors to the Angle Society of Europe, in which he became an active member in 1994. He always strove to make the spirit of the Angle Society of Europe true: commitment to quality for our patients, excellence in the art and science of orthodontics, and sharing our knowledge and ethics in our specialty. Professor Pancherz was a leading scientific reviewer in several journals and received many national and international awards, including the Jarabak Scholar in Orthodontics (Indiana University) and the Sheldon Friel Award of the European Orthodontic Society. In addition, Hans was an Honorary Professor at The University of Hong Kong, Keith Godfrey Visiting Professor in Sydney, an Honorary member of the South African Society of Orthodontics, and an external examiner in Hong Kong and Sydney. During his time at the orthodontic departments in Malmö and Giessen, he supervised many doctoral and postgraduate students in orthodontics and had fruitful national and international collaborations with many colleagues. With Professor Pancherz’s death, a most significant researcher in orthodontics has passed away, and we remember him with great warmth and miss a highly respected colleague and friend.