NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT BRACES
Crazy HISTORY OF BRACES
Here are some images of the history of braces spanning from 500BC to the early 20th century. There has always been the idea that people can straighten their teeth. Although crude with holes drilled then metal used for tightening the teeth together, it's no wonder that these ancient innovators' ideas aren't all that far deviated from thousands of years later. Up until very recently, metal was the primary material put into individual's mouths to straighten teeth.
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As you may already know from the previous page on orthodontics in this website that we covered a quick history regarding braces. In this page we will cover little more of the detailed parts as to what braces actually do and how. This will provide a better understanding of the process on how braces actually work to correct various cosmetic or structural issues.
The main idea of braces works by creating pressure on one side of a tooth by force (pulling) and this is done by traditional metal braces. Brackets are placed onto teeth using a bonding material, in order for arch wire to connect the brackets with the teeth. A ligature elastic piece is used in the process to guide and align teeth. The process of "moving teeth" has to be done in a slow and consistent manner so that are not lost in the process. When teeth are applied to pressure from small rubber bands or even springs, force teeth in a specific direction. With this constant pressure over a period of time will and do move teeth. During the moving process a membrane called the periodontal membrane, will stretch from the applied force and putting pressure on the opposite side of the force. The tooth would loosen a little and over time new bone will grow to fill the void of where the tooth was loose, thus moving the tooth. A typical term for wearing braces is generally around two - two and a half years with adjustments to tighten about every three to five weeks. Today there are many types of braces for your individual needs or preferences. The most commonly used braces are the ones which are referred to as "metal mouth" and use stainless steel and/or titanium. These braces use metal brackets and rubber bands to hold wire onto the metal brackets. Then you have what is called self ligating braces, which do not need nor require any rubber bands but use the metal wire to go through the brackets. For those who are not wanting anyone to see your "metal mouth" there is the option of clear braces. The metal is replaced by ceramic brackets and/or plastic pieces which function in the same nature as the metal ones. Caution: with clear braces, removal at the end of the process could be more difficult and time consuming as the clear braces are more brittle than the metal ones. Of course if you are allergic to types of metal like nickel, than you could have your choice of silver or gold plated stainless steel braces. If you absolutely do not want anyone to see your braces then there is an option to have Lingual braces, to be custom made which are fitted like traditional braces to the back of your teeth opposed to the front. |