An Anterior Cervical Distractor System and Technique of use for surgical procedures to correct cervical spinal deformities is described. The Anterior Cervical Distractor System includes a cervical distractor having a distracting assembly for distracting vertebral bodies and a centering assembly for providing proper alignment. A plurality of control knobs, a distractor assembly control knob and a centering component assembly control knob, are used to allow the surgeon to control the centering and distracting functionality.