Dental braces

Dental braces (also known as braces, orthodontic cases, or cases) are devices used in orthodontics that align and straighten teeth and help to position them with regard to a person's bite, while also working to improve dental health. They are often used to correct underbites, as well as malocclusions, overbites, open bites, deep bites, cross bites, crooked teeth, and various other flaws of the teeth and jaw. Braces can be either cosmetic or structural. Dental braces are often used in conjunction with other orthodontic appliances to help widen the palate or jaws and to otherwise assist in shaping the teeth and jaws.

According to scholars and historians, braces date back to ancient times. Around 400-300 BCE, Hippocrates and Aristotle contemplated ways to straighten teeth and fix various dental conditions. Archaeologists have discovered numerous mummified ancient individuals with what appear to be metal bands wrapped around their teeth. Catgut, a type of cord made from the natural fibers of an animal's intestines, performed a similar role to today’s orthodontic wire in closing gaps in the teeth and mouth. The Etruscans buried their dead with dental appliances in place to maintain space and prevent collapse of the teeth during the afterlife. A Roman tomb was found with a number of teeth bound with gold wire documented as a ligature wire, a small elastic wire that is used to affix the arch wire to the bracket. Roman philosopher and physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus first recorded the treatment of teeth by finger pressure. Unfortunately, due to lack of evidence, poor preservation of bodies, and primitive technology, little research was carried out on dental braces until around the 17th century, although dentistry as a profession was by then making great advancements.

Orthodontics truly began developing in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1728, French dentist Pierre Fauchard, who is often credited with inventing modern orthodontics, published a book entitled "The Surgeon Dentist" on methods of straightening teeth. Fauchard, in his practice, used a device called a "Bandeau", a horseshoe-shaped piece of iron that helped expand the arch. In 1754, another French dentist, Louis Bourdet, dentist to the King of France, followed Fauchard's book with The Dentist's Art, which also dedicated a chapter to tooth alignment and application. He perfected the "Bandeau" and was the first dentist on record to recommend extraction of the premolar teeth to alleviate crowding and to improve jaw growth.

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Wikipedia