The history of orthodontics
Simply put, the science of correcting teeth and removing malocclusion is orthodontics.
People's longing for beauty has a long history. Archaeologists have discovered exquisite pictures in ancient times. The ancients have decorated their teeth for a long time. They drilled holes in their teeth and set them with rubies and sapphires. Of course, the teeth need to be neat, and the jewels are set on them to look good. Ancient humans had a wide jaw and a diet dominated by crude fiber. The crowded deformity of teeth is rare, and the disorder of dentition caused by periodontal disease is common, so ancient humans thought of arranging teeth to make them look neat, which should be the earliest bud of orthodontics!
Then, 1000 years ago, mankind has made a big step forward, and evolution has also brought many evolutionary diseases, among which malocclusion is one. People have known malocclusion for a long time and used some simple methods to correct malocclusion. Tooth arrangement began to become a science. As a discipline, modern orthodontics has really developed rapidly, that is, in this century. It has only a history of more than one hundred years and is a young subject.
Like many disciplines, a pioneering scholar has made great contributions, usually called "A".
Someone's father. "The founder of orthodontics is American doctor Angel. East coast .. Dr. Angel studied the natural occlusion of human beings with great interest and designed a device that looked magical at that time, which effectively corrected many malocclusion. His theory of malocclusion diagnosis and treatment is still in use today, which is the basis of modern orthodontics and is praised as "the father of modern orthodontics" by later generations.
In the next hundred years, Dr. Angel's students and successors made unremitting efforts. Orthodontics has also spread rapidly from its birthplace to all countries in the world, and at the same time, it has continuously penetrated the efforts of orthodontists in various countries, with more and more profound theories and more exquisite techniques. Orthodontics has made rapid progress in design concept, orthodontic technology and materials science. Modern orthodontics is a new discipline independent from stomatology. Especially in recent decades, the development speed is amazing. Will the application of fixed appliance bring many problems? It is possible to correct it. In addition, thanks to a lot of basic scientific research and understanding of human growth and development, a considerable number of malocclusions can be prevented before they happen.
The English name of orthodontics comes from the combination of three Greek roots, meaning "tooth", "orthodontics" and "discipline", that is, "orthodontics". However, with the development of this discipline, it is not only limited to arranging teeth, but also involves solving the disharmony between jaw and skull, so as to achieve the harmonious beauty of the whole face.
2 the scope of orthodontic treatment
Orthodontics mainly studies what malocclusion is, what type it is, what causes it, how to diagnose it and how to correct it more effectively.
Orthodontics is also very complicated and can be simply divided into the following aspects:
A. Correcting existing irregular teeth, also known as comprehensive orthodontics: this is also one of the most important tasks of orthodontics. It means that patients find obvious malocclusion, under the guidance of orthodontists, choose appropriate appliances, such as mechanical appliances or functional appliances, and pull, push, pull and twist teeth in alveolar bone to move them to normal positions. Sometimes, orthodontists need to pull out less important teeth in the dental arch in order to arrange the front teeth that have a great influence on "face" in an ideal position. There is a gap in the dental arch after tooth extraction (tooth extraction gap), so it is not necessary to insert it. Under the reasonable arrangement of orthodontists, they were occupied by the teeth in front and behind the gap respectively. After correction, this gap will not exist, and the teeth in the arch will still be close together, but it will be more neat and beautiful. Correct orthodontic tooth extraction will not affect the normal oral function. Through comprehensive correction, the crowding deformity can be alleviated, and the disharmony between the upper and lower jaws such as malocclusion and protruding teeth can also be corrected.
B, prevent the further development of tooth and jaw deformities, also known as preventive correction: take various measures to prevent or block the occurrence and development of malocclusion. For example, mothers should pay attention to nutrition during pregnancy to prevent excessive radiation and drug abuse. Children have regular oral examination after teething. Teach children correct pronunciation and diet, and get rid of bad oral habits. Keep the gap between early deciduous teeth and remove the remaining supernumerary teeth. Such a series of preventive measures can prevent malocclusion to some extent.
C, with surgical correction: some serious skeletal deformities need orthodontics combined with surgical treatment to achieve good results.
D, cooperate with other oral treatments. For example, for some patients who need dental implants, it is difficult to implant teeth directly because of long-term tooth loss, and the teeth on both sides of the gap are inclined. Orthodontists can correct the teeth on both sides with the help of orthodontists, which makes it easier to place dentures. Some patients with temporomandibular joint diseases caused by malocclusion can also improve their symptoms by correcting their teeth.
Why do teeth move?
Teeth "walk" in the hard jaw, especially after tooth extraction, leaving a gap nearly a finger wide. The front teeth and the back teeth "walk" together, and they all have to move a long distance. Tooth moves so much, will it affect your health? Will it fall off easily in old age?
Let's briefly understand the principle of tooth movement in orthodontic treatment.
When we open our mouth, the white teeth we see are actually only a part of the teeth, called the crown, and the part below the crown is buried in the tissue, which is the root. The root of oral submucosa is surrounded by alveolar bone. Teeth move in such a thick alveolar bone. When the teeth begin orthodontic treatment, a continuous and gentle force is applied to the teeth. The teeth at this time are like a small construction site. The direction of the force refers to the front. The front is constantly "dismantled" (bone absorption, old bone dissolution), and the back is constantly "built" (bone deposition, new bone formation), and the teeth move bit by bit. It can be seen that tooth movement is not so much a mechanical process as a metabolic process. Teeth are always intact, always supported by bone fossa, and always have blood circulation and nutrition and oxygen supply, so the life of teeth will not be affected. You can't lose your teeth when you are old. It depends on how well your teeth are protected. Teeth without dental caries and periodontitis can accompany you for a lifetime.
Teeth and alveolar bone are not closely combined. There is a flocculent membrane between them, which is rich in cells and liquid, called "periodontal membrane", and there are many tiny ligaments to hang the teeth. When the orthodontic teeth begin to bear stress, the periodontal ligament in front of the movement is squeezed, and the patient will feel a little sore at the root. The absorption of old bone creates space for teeth to move forward, which can generally be relieved by itself after two or three days. Orthodontics only has some slight pain in the late stage of each force application.
If the orthodontic force is too large, the patient will feel severe pain that cannot be relieved for many days, the blood circulation of the squeezed periodontal ligament will be blocked, local necrosis will occur, and the tooth movement will temporarily stop. Blind pursuit of fast, too hard, at the end of orthodontics, you can see some external absorption of individual roots. This is what orthodontists try to avoid.
The changes of teeth and jaws are gradual, so the course of orthodontic treatment is long, and the correction time is generally in years. It takes about 2 years to treat most malocclusions by tooth extraction.
Accurately speaking, orthodontists are not only moving teeth, but also changing the imbalance of maxillofacial region. There is no specific age limit for orthodontic treatment, but generally speaking, children's skeletal reactivity is much better than that of adults, which is why the treatment of childhood malocclusion is not only effective, but also short.
For skeletal malocclusion, orthodontists hope to change the position and size of the jaw, and the treatment must be completed during the growth and development of children. During this period, bones respond best to treatment.
Orthodontists, like patients, want to shorten the course of treatment as much as possible, so diagnosis and treatment design are very important. Choosing the shortest path and making use of all favorable factors can often affect the treatment time more than the advantages and disadvantages of orthoses. Doctors should turn the patient's teeth into plaster models for accurate measurement and calculation; X-ray photos were taken of the patient's bones to understand its development trend, growth potential and root buds; Detailed examination of general health and development, family genetic tendency, etc., in order to clarify the possible causes of malocclusion. We should also carefully observe the patient's disposition and cooperation. On the basis of meeting the patient's correction requirements first, the doctor makes clear the correction goal, decides whether to pull out the tooth, chooses one appliance or several appliances to use, then installs them one by one, and then makes periodic adjustment until the goal is achieved and it remains stable.
This is the general process of orthodontics that we see.