The practice of orthodontics has been around for much longer than most people realize. From as far back as 1000 BC, the Ancient Egyptians and Etruscans were attempting to move teeth with primitive devices in an attempt to correct bad bites. Today we’ll talk about how orthodontics have evolved over the course of human history and some of the people responsible for its advancement.
Ancient Orthodontics
Archaeologists and researchers have found evidence of early orthodontic practices among the Ancient Greeks, Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Etruscans. Some of the earliest techniques include the Roman method of moving teeth using finger pressure to a type of mouth guard courtesy of the Etruscans. The Egyptians and the Romans opted to wrap catgut or gold wire around people’s teeth to close gaps. Scientists have even found mummies with wire wrapped around their teeth. It’s clear that fixing crooked teeth and malocclusions is not a modern invention. It’s a long-standing part of human history.
The Birth of Modern Dentistry
We don’t have any evidence of any significant changes in orthodontics until hundreds of years later, when Pierre Fauchard, a French dental surgeon who is widely considered the father of modern dentistry, created an appliance called a bandeau. The bandeau was essentially a horseshoe-shaped piece of metal with spaces in it that fit around the teeth and put pressure on them. Gold was the metal of choice, and Fauchard would use waxed linen or silk threads to fasten the braces in place.
Christophe-Francois Delabarre, another Frenchman, later invented the first wire crib, which is basically an early model of something that we may recognize as braces today. The wire crib is a half-circle that was placed directly on the teeth to try to move them into position.
Beginning in the middle of the 18th century, a dentist named Norman Kingsley started using extraoral force to correct protruding teeth. He was also a pioneer in the treatment of cleft lip and palate. Despite his innovations in these fields, at the time he and other experts in the field didn’t value having a full set of teeth. The focus was more on having straighter teeth.
Edward Hartley Angle, regarded as the father of modern orthodontics, first trained as a dentist and later taught orthodontics at several universities. Angle successfully identified many of the common orthodontic problems, and even coined the term “malocclusion” to refer to anomalies in the position of teeth. He began creating orthodontic appliances as early as 1880, and opened the Angle School of Orthodontia in St. Louis in 1900 at the urging of some of his students. He went on to help create three other schools for training orthodontics around the United States.
It was Angle who helped define the concept of “proper” occlusion, or what we think of now as a healthy bite. Before Angle, there weren’t any widely-shared views on what a proper bite looks like.
During the postwar period, many orthodontists started using cephalometric radiography to better understand tooth and jaw development. They saw that many problems were actually caused by misaligned jaws, not crooked teeth. Correcting these issues using external force became a major focus of orthodontics after this period.
Dental Adhesive Changes Braces Forever
In the 1970s, orthodontics began using dental adhesive to hold brackets to the teeth. This was a significant innovation because it eliminated the need to wrap each tooth individually. Orthodontists also developed tie wires and elastic ligatures to keep the braces tight. Stainless steel became commonplace as the material of choice for braces, and improved orthodontic care because it was much easier to work with.
Lingual braces were also seen for the first time in the 1970s. Lingual braces involve brackets placed on the back of the teeth instead of the front.
In the 1990s, scientists worked on developing and researching plastic aligners and retainers. By the early 2000s, this innovative technology became a viable option for patients. In recent years, in-office 3D printers have made clear aligners more affordable and accessible than ever.
The Braces of Today and of the Future
Orthodontics is one of the most rapidly growing health industries, and advances in technology and research into orthodontic health and techniques means that orthodontic treatment continues to evolve.
The quality of scans and impressions continue to improve, and this helps orthodontists to better diagnose and treat orthodontic issues with shorter treatment times and reduced patient discomfort.
Orthodontic care has a long history of creating healthier and more confident smiles. Contact your TAO orthodontic specialist to learn more about braces and the orthodontic treatment that will be right for you.
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