More Dental Trivia
From Catgut to NASA Technology
It used to take guts to straighten teeth-literally. Archaeologists have discovered mummified ancients with crude metal bands wrapped around individual teeth. To close gaps, it has been surmised that catgut did the work now done by today's space-age orthodontic wire.
According to past AAO president Dr. Michael Rennert :"Hippocrates wrote of attempts to straighten teeth around 400 B.C."
Well, what a difference a few millennia can make.
Recent advances make the treatment of just decades ago seem positively primitive. In the 1960s, the process of putting braces on could take nearly an entire day. Bands were fitted around each tooth, which required forcing the teeth apart to accommodate the hardware. Nowadays, treatment is much more comfortable.
Presently brackets are affixed directly to the front of each tooth, and an archwire is inserted through the brackets on each tooth. According to The American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. "In the early 1900s, orthodontists used gold to make bands and wires. It was malleable, easy to shape, but because of its softness required adjustments more frequently than today."
Orthodontic treatment today is much simpler and efficient largely due to the modern materials used today for orthodontics. Patients no longer need to visit the orthodontist as frequently as they once did before.
NASA developed one of the late 20th century's most dramatic orthodontic breakthroughs, heat-activated nickel-titanium alloy wires. These new heat-activated nickel titanium wires are very flexible at room temperature. They become active and gradually move the teeth in the desired position as they become accustomed to the patient's body temperature. Because of their high-tech properties, these wires retain their tooth-moving abilities longer than their predecessors.
As technology has changed, so have treatment philosophies and approaches. Adults weren't likely to seek treatment just a few decades ago. And most parents wouldn't have dreamed of taking youngsters to an orthodontist until all the "baby" teeth were gone.