History of orthodontics

The history of man's attempts to use braces to change his smile goes back thousands of years.  Archaeologists have even discovered mummies that had teeth that were "wired" to align them better.  Back in 400 BC., Hippocrates wrote about attempts made to straighten teeth.  It's obvious that knowledge of using pressure to move teeth to their required position over a period of time, was present in those days too.

It was in 1850 however, that the first attempts to correct the positioning of teeth using extra oral force were made.  The dentist at the forefront of the movement was Dr. Norman Kingsley, who would go on to serve as the first dean of the New York University College for Dentistry.  Back in those days, people paid scant attention to the bite, and it was uncommon to find people who had a complete set of healthy teeth. Suffice to say, interest in the alignment of teeth wasn't high.

It was in the later part of the 19th century, that Dr Edward Angle published his work, Angle's classification of Malocclusion. It was a path breaking publication for the time, because the understanding of occlusion was so low.  His work discussed the manner of creating a correct occlusion in the teeth, and also introduced a concept of a natural occlusion in the teeth, which had been left largely ignored till then.  Broadly, his work classified malocclusion as Class I malocclusion which has an improper occlusal line, Class II malocclusion or overbite, and Class II malocclusion or under bite. Dr. Edward Angle along with some of his colleagues in the field of dentistry at this point, established the American Association of Orthodontists.

With the publication of Angle's ground breaking work, orthodontics as a field of specialty dentistry, began to take shape.  It was still a far cry from the specialized orthodontistry we know of today, but the focus had begun to shift from mere straightening of the teeth to boost one's appearance, to actually looking into the types of malocclusion, and the right ways to correct these.

As the century progressed, interest grew in the part that extracting teeth could play in orthodontics. In the thirties, dentists began to experiment with improving the proportions of the face by tooth extraction, making for a more stable alignment of the teeth.

A decade later, dentists began to develop radiographs that enabled them to see how the development of bone in the jaw, and other areas of the mouth could affect alignment.  This led to the knowledge that by redirecting the growth of bone, one could make changes to the alignment to prevent malocclusion.

In the sixties, research in orthodontia began to chart uncovered territory, as it explored the role of surgery in correcting occlusion in people whose bone wasn't able to develop any further.

Modern day orthodontics has progressed considerably since those early days. It now includes not just correcting the alignment of the teeth for a more cosmetically pleasing experience, but also creating a firm occlusal relationship.