Dental Braces History

Some children have to be fitted with braces. The groans of exasperation are heard by the parent or parents that need to put a child in the orthodontist chair. Dental braces are used to straighten the teeth and sweeten a smile, but these small, metallic devices did not appear from nowhere.

The children that need to have dental braces need not feel bad. There have been mummies found with metal and wires in their mouths presumed to have been used to straighten teeth. Ancient Romans, before Christ, were known to do the same thing. The dental industry did not catch up with progress until the late 1700s. A Monsieur Fauchard first published a dentistry book that had a section about ways to straighten teeth. However, the very first set of dental braces did not appear until the 1900s and were gold. As expensive as they were, not many people could afford those dental braces.

The wiring for those rare pieces of dentistry was also gold. Stainless steel for dental braces was not used until the mid 20th century. Those braces did not change much after that except for the metal used. Heat activated nickel-titanium wiring allowed for the teeth to move into the appropriate spots with less attention from the dentist.  Right up until the late 20th century and into the 21st century a new sort of dental braces came about. Invisalign has made astronomic headway in orthodontia.

Children no longer squirm and scream not have dental braces inserted. In most cases these invisible dental braces will work to straighten teeth. Dental braces have come a long way since their inception. Children around the world, and some adults, are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this type of progress. Without it, dental braces would still either be very expensive or hard to take care of for children.