A brief history in orthodontics

It may come as a surprise to some, but did you know that various forms of orthodontics have been around as early as the ancient Roman era? Unfortunately for them they did not have the knowledge and technological advancements we have today, so moving teeth with your fingers was considered appropriate practice! Since the ancient Roman era, orthodontic treatment progressed, with one of the earliest founders of treatment being Pierre Fauchard. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Pierre created a horseshoe-like appliance with indentations in it where teeth would ideally sit, patients would then wear this until their teeth hopefully moved into position. He was also one of the first people to tie teeth to one another for more precise movements (similar to braces) and discovered that teeth move along wires. Most recently however, we come across Edward Hartley Angle who had the mind behind some of the appliances still used in orthodontics today. Luckily for you orthodontics has come a long way since these early days and they even use appliances similar to what they developed back in the time of Pierre and Edward. In 1997, Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth created Invisalign,

Laura Hogg – Oral Health Therapist, Straight Smiles Orthodontics Pakenham. which uses a personalised number of sequential aligners that will straighten teeth. To this date Invisalign, alongside the help of dental professionals have helped create over 5 million smiles! Who knows where we would have been now without orthodontics’ more ‘experimental’ era, we certainly have a lot to be thankful for!