Types of Orthodontic Wires
For the most part, the types of orthodontic wires available have not changed much over the past few years. However, there are a few options to consider.
The main types of orthodontic wires are: stainless steel and wrought gold. Orthodontists choose these materials due to the fact that they are durable, bendable, and they help to aid with treatment. Before dental professionals figured out that they could use these wires to help straighten teeth, many other types of materials were used, though none of them were entirely effective.
If you were to go back in time to the very beginning of orthodontics, you would discover that many people had their teeth pulled in lieu of having braces attached (mostly because braces were not invented). Once the brace was thought of, the situation of those needing corrective mouth gear improved, but not drastically. Rather than pull teeth out, large head pieces were crafted out of pure precious metals. This headgear was placed around the skull and attached to the teeth – needless to say, it was not very easy to carry around... and it could not be removed either. Once the basic blueprint of braces was improved, orthodontists were able to apply something that was a bit easier to carry around.
The types of orthodontic wires that are used today are the direct result of centuries of work. Almost every person that every worked to correct misaligned teeth has contributed to modern braces. Those small wires that are made from steel and gold today are a far cry from the headgear that many used to have to wear. Since stainless steel and gold wires are a lot less expensive than the earlier models, many people can now afford to correct their teeth without pain or bankruptcy.
Though we tend to take corrective mouth gear for granted today, those that had to have their teeth pulled centuries ago would have jumped at the chance to wear modern braces. While that bit of knowledge is amazing in its own right, it is far more amazing to think of the ways that orthodontics may change in the near future – who knows, people may not have to bear braces at all within the next ten years.
As you can tell, the types of orthodontic wires that are used today have not really changed much when compared to two years ago, but they have changed a lot since the beginning of orthodontics as a whole. Thankfully, this field has grown drastically over the past few decades resulting in fixing teeth... not pulling them out.