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November’s Tip: Bendology Revisited: A Tribute to Dr. Tom Mulligan — Three Bends I Still Use Every Day (Part I of III) Tip-Back Bend – Upper and Lower

This article is a tribute to my teacher, Dr. Tom Mulligan, whose approach to orthodontic biomechanics has had a lasting influence on my clinical practice.

In 1998, as a young postgraduate student, I had the privilege of attending Dr. Mulligan’s (fig:1) Common Sense Mechanics course. The principles he taught during those two days have remained an integral part of my orthodontic practice in Kerala for nearly three decades.
For me, orthodontics is not merely about brackets and archwires—it is fundamentally about biomechanics and bends. Dr. Mulligan taught us that wire bends should not simply be viewed as compensations for treatment errors; rather, they can be an integral part of the treatment mechanics itself.

Among the many principles I learned from him, three bends remain particularly relevant in my daily clinical practice, even while using contemporary pre-adjusted systems such as the MBT prescription.