Feature Hans Peter Bimler at Age 85

By Barbara Bimler, PhD

rom childhood, Hans Peter Bimler, a Diplomate of years ago, the idea was rather spectacular.

F the IAO, was involved with teeth. His father, Walter

Bimler, was a society-dentist in Silesia, an eastern
province of Germany and very popular with the local aristoc-
Active military service with the medical corps interrupt-
ed research, study, and work. The war, and specifically later,
the German retreat, provided Peter Bimler with important
racy. He engaged his son as a course assistant, and thus led lessons for the rest of his life: the possibility of working with
him early to a life of research and teaching. He encouraged minimal means, and respect of the healing power of nature.
him to study medicine. Hans Peter enrolled in the medical Meanwhile the world did not stand still. The steel pro-
faculty in his hometown of Breslau in 1935. In those days, the ducer Krupp had began earlier to market stainless steel for
students changed university once a year, to get a good picture dental use. Several types of removable orthodontic appli-
of the different teachings. In 1939, to study under Martin ances were produced and gained territory among the gener-
Schwarz, Hans Peter went to Vienna, Austria. But soon al dentists. This is connected with the socio-political situa-
World War II began, and he returned to Breslau to study and tion of those days: treatment for everybody’s child who
to work with his father (Fig. 1). might need it; mass treatment for the population. This ideal
The first result of his innovative spirit was the can only be realized with removable appliances.
“Roentgenphotogramm” (Fig. 2), presented at the EOS The activators were also in use in father Walter’s office.
congress in 1939 in Wiesbaden, Germany, the first of many Hans Peter’s clinical eye, on leave from the front, enjoyed
to come. In order to show the relation between the skull, the healthy gums of the patients. At the same time he
the teeth, and the soft tissue, an x-ray and a photograph found the looks and comfort of the activator rather clumsy.
were superimposed. Today, this is done by computer, but 60 After release from a British prison camp, Hans Peter
found himself a refugee, as his hometown was no longer
part of Germany. His family had managed to flee to the
West. At 30 years of age, Hans Peter started from zero with
nothing but his medical degree. Of course, most the
German population was in the same or a worse position.
Father Walter had managed to transfer a dental chair
and some head plates to the west. Now Hans Peter had
ample free time to study the head plates again and again
and to discover the patters of the facial types, laying ground
for his “Bimler Cephalometric Analysis.” When slowly their
common orthodontic office started functioning, he worked

Figure 1 (above) — Hans Peter

Bimler as a student in his
father’s office, with profile
study.

Figure 2 (right) — This super-

position of head plate and
photograph was developed
about 1938 to give a better
understanding of the malocclu- Figure 3 — After the war, the first clinical results with the “Elastic Oral
sion to patients and parents. Adaptor” were encouraging.

IJO • VOL. 13 • NO. 1 • SPRING 2002 19

to streamline the
activator. He
checked what
was essential for
the treatment,
and eliminated
the rest, replacing
as much as possi-
ble of the acrylic
by wire. After
much trial and
error, even upper
and lower part
united only by
wire arches. This
made the appli- Figure 7 — In Rome, the Pope gives his blessings to the family.
ance not only only by chance,
elastic but also recently spending
Figure 4 - In the early 60s, the “Elastic Oral adjustable in the some time in the
Adaptor” was internationally known as the three dimensions US library of
“Bimler Appliance.” of space. Now, congress. In the
the entire treat- early 1950’s,
ment could be finished with analysis and
one and the same appliance, appliance were
which was an important factor ready for publica-
in post-war Germany. The first tion. In the 60’s,
results of his device were Peter Bimler was
rather encouraging (Fig. 3). rather famous
At the same time, continu- and lecturing in
ing his pre-war work, he devel- Europe, the
oped the “Bimler Americas, and
Cephalometric Analysis.” This Figure 8 — In 2001, Hans Peter Bimler always
Africa (Figs. 4 &
Figure 5 — Hans Peter Bimler made his name in anthropolog- enjoys a good glass of the regional Rhine wine.
poses for the photographer. 5).
ical circles, as we found out However, really close to his heart was neither appliance
nor analysis but always his wife Erika. (Fig. 6). In 1953, he
had married his school days sweetheart. Thereafter, she
accompanied him everywhere (Fig. 7). Today he swears
that all his international invitations and all his fame were
only due to her wits and beauty.
With the new millennium, alas, he has to face life with-
out her (Fig. 8). But he puts on a smile and does enjoy the
fact that his appliance, half a century old, works on in so
many mouths all over the world.

Dr. Barbara Bimler, daughter of Hans Peter

Bimler, is currently the General Manager of
Bimler Laboratories. She received a Ph.D. in
1991 and lectures internationally about the
Bimler Appliance and Cephalometric
Analysis. She also has over 40 publications
Figure 6 — The Bimler couple with their son-in-law, Dr. Michael P. Rhodes, to her credit.
at the EOS congress 1990 in Copenhagen. Barbara Bimler, Ph.D.

20 IJO • VOL. 13 • NO. 1 • SPRING 2002