Woodbury Storer How (1829-1911): the man and his plier

The eponymously named How plier has been used as an orthodontic utility plier for over a century. Woodbury Storer How was in fact not an orthodontist but a general dentist, who used the plier as an integral instrument for his crown technique. Its currency today is due to its adoption by Edward Hartley Angle, who left his indelible mark on the development of orthodontics. The linking thread between the two men was dentist Samuel Stockton White who, besides establishing a dental supply company bearing his name, was also a dental publisher which impacted on the lives of both How and Angle.