The Great Men Who Contributed to the Development of Braces
A lot of you may already know that orthodontics have been practiced since early times. Among the common appliance used by orthodontic specialists these days are braces. So, when were braces first developed?
Well, according to archeologists and the American Association of Orthodontists or AAO, they have discovered mummified ancients with makeshift metal bands wrapped around each set of teeth. In order to close the gaps, instead of using orthodontic wires, the ancients were guessed to have used catgut. Hippocrates and Aristotle who both lived from 400-500 BC ponder of solutions on how to straighten teeth.
But it was Pierre Fauchard who first suggested the use of a horseshoe-shaped piece of metal in order to expand the arch. J. Farrar, the writer of “A Treatise on the Irregularities of the Teeth and Their Corrections” and known as a good designer of brace appliances, first suggested the use of mild force at timed intervals in order to move the teeth.
Edward H. Angle, who devised the first simple classification system for malocclusions, also contributed to the history of braces. His system paved way for dentists to describe how crooked the teeth are, what way they are pointing and how they fit together. This also paved way for the design of orthodontic appliances. He also founded the first college of orthodontics.
These men paved way for the birth of braces like orthodontic retainer and lingual braces that are used today. Without them, orthodontists wouldn’t be able to fix malocclusions and other teeth problems.
