[Evolution of orthodontic appliances from 1728 to 2007. Inaugural Conference of the 79th Scientific Meeting of the SFODF at Versailles, 31 May 2007]. / L'évolution des appareils orthodontiques de 1728 à 2007. Conférence inaugurale de la 79ème réunion scientifique de la SFODF à Versailles, le 31 mai 2007.

ABSTRACT

The nature of orthodontic appliances depends, in part, on the development of therapeutic ideas and also on the materials and techniques that are available to practitioners. The first mechanisms appeared in 1728; they were attached to teeth by ligatures. Removable appliances, made of metal, ivory and, later, vulcanite developed as soon as practitioners became capable of taking reliable impressions, an epoch that began in 1840. A multiplicity of fixed appliances was introduced after the invention of a dental cement that could be used to attach them to teeth in 1871. But even before that, in 1860, dentists had begun to modify the form and the position of basal bone and to construct intra- and extra-oral appliances to accomplish this. And it wasn't until 1916 that Angle introduced the first bracket that allowed orthodontists to apply a couple of forces to teeth. For the most part, a new appliance didn't replace an older one. It was simply added to the armamentarium, which explains why we now have such a great diversity of systems at our disposal, and the imprecision of the indications for the use of many of them.