American Association of Orthodontists

Orthodontic Facts

Patients
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that all children get a check-up with an orthodontic specialist no later than age 7.

Healthy teeth can be moved at almost any age. One in 5 orthodontic patients is an adult, age 18 or older. 63% of adult orthodontic patients are female.

Crooked teeth in history
Archeological evidence shows that crooked teeth have been a problem since the time of Neanderthal man (about 50,000 BC). (Source: Orthodontics in 3 millennia. Chapter 1: Antiquity to the mid-19th Century; American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, February 2005, p. 255.)

Primitive but well-designed orthodontic appliances have been found with Greek and Etruscan artifacts. (Source: Orthodontics in 3 millennia. Chapter 1: Antiquity to the mid-19th Century, American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, February 2005, p. 255.)

The first written description of "irregularities of the teeth" (what today is called a "malocclusion") dates to 400 B.C. and was written by Hippocrates.

Leonardo da Vinci is credited with being the first to recognize tooth relationships (meaning how the teeth meet and work to bite and chew food).

Orthodontic treatments
The Herbst appliance was introduced by Dr. Emil Herbst in 1905. (Source: Who Was Who in Orthodontics with a Selected Bibliography of Orthodontic History, p. 163.)

The metal of choice for orthodontic appliances in the early 20th century was gold, because of its malleability.

The first verifiable use of the term "braces" was in the 1920s.

Stainless steel appliances (brackets and wires) were introduced in 1927. (Source: Who Was Who in Orthodontics with a Selected Bibliography of Orthodontic History, p. 164.)

The first direct bonding of brackets to teeth occurred in 1955. (Source: Who Was Who in Orthodontics with a Selected Bibliography of Orthodontic History, p. 166.)

Orthodontic treatment was introduced as a fringe benefit in health plans by private industry and labor organizations in the 1950s. (Source: "A Brief History of Orthodontics," American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, September 1990, p. 210.)

Clear brackets (made of ceramic or porcelain) were introduced in the 1970s. (Source: Who Was Who in Orthodontics with a Selected Bibliography of Orthodontic History, p. 167.)

Orthodontics as a profession
The AAO has 15,000 members in the U.S., Canada and abroad.

Members of the American Association of Orthodontists have been straightening teeth and aligning jaws for more than 100 years. The Association and the specialty of orthodontics were established in St. Louis, Missouri in 1900. The Association was first known as the American Society of Orthodontists. The name was changed to the American Association of Orthodontists in 1937.

Dr. Edward H. Angle was the first orthodontist—the first dentist to limit his practice to orthodontics only. He is considered the "Father of Modern Orthodontics." Dr. Angle was born June 1, 1855. (Source: American Journal of Orthodontics, July 1965, p. 530.)

On June 11, 1901, the first scientific meeting of the American Society of Orthodontists (now the American Association of Orthodontists) convened at the Hotel Beers in St. Louis, Missouri.

(Source: American Association of Orthodontists: The Biography of a Specialty Organization, p. 34.) Dr. Edward H. Angle was president.

The first woman orthodontist was Dr. Carrie Locke of Nashua, New Hampshire. She attended the first meeting of the American Society of Orthodontists (the organization's name was later changed to the American Association of Orthodontists).

The first dental specialty board, the American Board of Orthodontics, was established in 1929. (Source: American Board of Orthodontics Web site, www.americanboardortho.com.)

In 1994 the American Dental Association House of Delegates approved the name orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics as the name of the orthodontic specialty. (Source: Orthodontics at 2000, p. 68.) The prefix "ortho" means straight or correct. "Dontics" refers to teeth. So "orthodontics" literally means straight or correct teeth. The "dentofacial orthopedics" refers to guiding the growth of children's teeth and facial bones.

Training and education
The first dental textbook written in English was published in 1803. The first textbook on orthodontics was published in 1889.

Tuition for Edward Angle's orthodontic school in New London, Connecticut (1908-1911) was $200 for six-week sessions. (Source: "A Brief History of Orthodontics," American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, September 1990, p. 206.)

Today it takes 10 or more years to become an orthodontist. An orthodontist completes college requirements, followed by three to five years of dental school. Then comes a minimum of two years of post-doctorate study at a university-based orthodontic program accredited by the American Dental Association. There are only 67 accredited orthodontic programs in the U.S. and Canada.

The American Orthodontist, a quarterly magazine published from 1907 to 1912, was the first publication devoted exclusively to orthodontic material. (Source: American Journal of Orthodontics, July 1965, p.534.)

Frequently asked questions about orthodontics—and answers—can be found on the AAO public Web site, www.braces.org, in the "Want a Beautiful Smile" and "Want to Know More" sections.