Braces are the awkward teenage rite of passage that most teenagers have to endure. Though painful and awkward, the braces are a necessary evil that improve the quality of smile and strengthens the teeth, which otherwise would have remained crooked.
Putting and tightening braces is a highly scheduled work and most of us only see them after they have been put on the teeth and after they have finished their work on the teeth, giving teenagers and youth that celebrity like smile instead of a crooked smile.
Here we have a time lapse video which shows how braces do their magic on the teeth of an 11 year old girl. The video is on the last page for you to watch, in awe.
By definition, braces or dental braces 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.
Most of the times, they are used to set the crooked teeth straight among teenagers, but apart from that, braces are often used to correct overbite, under bite, open and deep bites. And though you might think braces are a modern invention, but actually braces and similar devices have been dated back to ancient roman times.
Aristotle and Hippocrates thought of ways to straighten crooked teeth way back in 400-300 BC and braces, though of different material was a possibility. Archaeologists have found mummies with metal bands tied around their teeth and catgut made from animal intestines was used to tie teeth to straighten them.
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The modern orthodontist techniques were invented by French dentist Pierre Fauchard in 1728. He had about mentioned a device known as Bandeau, a horseshoe shaped piece of iron which was used to expand the arch and align the teeth.
Braces are generally required to correct crooked teeth in teenagers, as that is the correct time, since their adult teeth continue to grow in this time period. Braces can also be used to treat overcrowded, overlapping teeth, or teeth having a bad bite.
Another condition that can be cured by braces is Malocclusion, a condition where the sizes of bottom and upper jaws are different. If the upper jaw is bigger, it is called an over bite and if the lower jaw is bigger, it is called an underbite.
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Kesling & Rocke Orthodontic Group in Westville, Indiana has released a mesmerizing time lapse video of braces doing their miracle on an 11 year old girl. The video shows how the wires in the braces were tightened over time in order to bring this girl’s teeth in alignment with one another.
Braces move the teeth by applying pressure on them. Most braces contain four major things: brackets, bonding material, arch wire and ligature elastics known as O rings to align the teeth. Teeth move when this arch wire puts pressure on the brackets, which are bonded to the teeth. O rings can be used to put enough pressure on a tooth to move it in a certain direction.
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The wires are tightened at regular dental appointments, so that correct amount of pressure is applied on the teeth. The girl in the video had the braces on for 18 months and it shows the before and after image of the girl at the end of the video.
The video shows the 11 year old girl smiling with her teeth in their natural crooked condition. The video then moves onto the teeth being pulled and pressure being applied by the arch wire. The teeth slowly begin to move to form an alignment with the jaw.
They move in uniform positions as and when requisite pressure is applied by the wires over a period of 18 months.
And you can the girl with a beautiful smile with aligned teeth at the end of this time lapse video.