Modern dental appliances are made from a wide variety of materials, and many, in addition to serving functional reasons for wearing them, are quite pleasing in appearance. This is in contrast to the early braces that used orthodontic braces, small squares of metal cemented to the surfaces of the teeth, which were developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Those braces were made of stainless steel with a metal "archwire" that ran around the curve of the mouth and slid through each brace to maintain stability, and also to allow for adjustments as the teeth repositioned. in the mouth.
Since the first orthodontic brace appliances were made of stainless steel, whenever the user spoke or smiled, the dental team was always visible and ways were sought to improve the cosmetic quality of the appliances. The branch of dentistry known as orthodontics, which focuses on correcting malpositioned teeth by mechanical or surgical means, began to actively search for different types of material with which to make dental appliances. Although braces made with stainless steel were very strong, some people had an allergic reaction to the nickel that was present in the stainless steel, and others found the braces to be quite painful. Orthodontists also wanted to find an alternative method of bracing that would be more cosmetically appealing.
The search resulted in the development during the 1980s of supports made of transparent or translucent material, such as plastic or ceramic. However, some people still preferred stainless steel braces and orthodontic brackets, so a new type of stainless steel brackets, called lingual brackets, have since been developed. These newer braces only go on the back surface of your teeth, so they're not as noticeable.
Another new development in dental braces is called A-braces. This brace is not actually a dental brace, but works more like a retainer: a specially designed dental device that helps hold teeth in place after braces. Orthodontic braces are replaced on the A brackets by small knobs shaped like a capital A, and the person wearing these brackets controls how much pressure is applied during the bite by making adjustments to the legs of the "A" by turning a small bar that Increases or lightens the pressure and space between the teeth.
A related concept is the development of orthodontic brackets with sensors, called "smart brackets." In the early 2000s, research was conducted at the University of Freiburg in Germany on the use of microchips to analyze the forces of biting actions on individual brackets within brackets. . The goal of this research was to improve the unpleasant experiences of dental braces as well as reduce the time and expense involved during this procedure.