A Brief History Of Orthodontics

If we were to live a day in a world where the science of orthodontics was never invented

, we would undoubtedly be surprised by the amount of people with malocclusions (or improper bites) that we thought had naturally perfect teeth. The truth is that nearly four million people in the United States are wearing braces at any given time and 25% of them are adults. Many of us have benefited from the skills of an orthodontist to help correct problems with our teeth.

Although people have been studying teeth and attempting to straighten teeth for thousands of years, orthodontics didn't really exist as a science until the late 19th century. However, the foundation of this science began a few hundred years earlier with early versions of orthodontic devises. In 1728 a French dentist named Pierre Fauchard published a book called "The Surgeon Dentist." In his book Fauchard devoted an entire chapter on ways to straighten crooked teeth.

He described a horseshoe shaped piece of metal that he used to expand the arch. Later in 1757, another French dentist named Ettienne Bourdet, who was dentist to the King of France, wrote another book on dentistry called "The Dentist's Art." Like Fauchard, he also devoted a chapter in his book to tooth alignment and appliances used to assist in this process. He perfected Fauchard's tooth straightening device and also discussed the removal of premolars as a way to alleviated tooth crowding in the mouth. These early French dentists were some of the fathers of orthodontics.

Despite these great works of early science, the real science of orthodontics didn't develop until the 19th century. Two men in the 19th century made a big impact on dentistry, Norman W. Kingsley and J. N. Farrar. Kingsley published both an article and a book that focused on orthodontics. Farrar wrote two books and was known for his designs of brace appliances that used gentle force to move teeth.

However, many consider the real Father of Orthodontics to be Edward H. Angle. A native of Pennsylvania, Angle became a doctor of medicine in 1897. He founded the first school of orthodontia, The Angle School of Orthodontia, at the beginning of the 20th century. By this time, he had established orthodontics as a specialty. Angle devised a simple classification system for malocclusions, which is still being used today. He also contributed to the design of early orthodontic appliances. He also wrote a widely used book called "Malocclusion of the Teeth." Thanks to pioneering men like Angle, millions of people benefit from the skills and knowledgeable orthodontists.

by: Art Gib

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