A short history lesson...
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:22 pm
As many readers are in their teens, 20s, or 30s, you all may not know what braces were like before colored ligs, or even glue-on brackets. I figured I'd share my braces experience, lasting about 3 years, in the early 1970s (around age 12).
1. No one went to an ortho until about age 10 or 11, never under 10 unless serious malformations. There just wasn't any "phased treatment" - when you were referred either you got braces or not. No expanders, or "pre-braces" braces.
2. All teeth were banded and bracketed. There was no other option - no glue-on, lingual, invisible, or ceramic. One style was all there was, basically.
3. Now, you all won't believe this part. Maybe it was my ortho, or the times, I don't know, but after my consultation we (with mom as I was 12) scheduled a banding appointment a few weeks out. The assistant handed me a small envelope, and this is what she said, "Inside this envelope are little rubber tubes called spacers. One week before you are to get your braces, I want you to put one of these between each of your teeth." Yes folks, we inserted our own spacers!!! Or not, as the case may be. If I got two in I was lucky. And, they were not like rubber bands, but oblong rubber tubes which stuck out the front and back of your teeth. If you think braces are bad, imagine black plastic tubes sticking out between each and every pair of teeth, upper and lower. So, you can imagine I didn't really care that I didn't get them in since I wasn't wild about the "spacer look." (for those wondering, mom was not home a lot so she didn't notice if I did or didn't put them in or not).
Here's the catch. It didn't matter a bit. The bands went on with no problems. I know that spacers make it easier, but in my experience it does not impede treatment in any way once the bands are on (which admittedly may be a bit harder, but they're experts!)
4. Adjustments were 4 weeks generally, 5 was long.
5. Headgear was common, and was expected to be worn 24 hours a day (the AOA I think now states 12 hours a day). Back then if you had the headgear sentence, you were stuck wearing it to school and out to social events, there was no excuse for not wearing it...except many of us snuck in the bathroom during homeroom and took it off til we got on the bus to go home.
6. The ortho's instrument of torture was the "thumper." It clamped onto the bands and the ortho would retract the upper part and when released it applied force on the bands to force them down or in position. Having gone through that, I can't see how anything glue on could be as bad, but I'm sure I'll find out.
7. The "cement" or whatever it is called that is used for impressions was not as good as it is today. I am not exaggerating when I say the impression tray, with all the goop in it, had to stay in your mouth for 5 minutes. They had a timer. I almost panicked having to have impressions this year, but the assistant tried to reassure me things were different. It was horrible, and people were known to go into panic attacks for fear of not being able to breathe with the plastic and mold filling up their mouth for 5 minutes.
But, that's it. You got braces, elastics, headgear, retainer (not told to wear long-term though) and life was pretty simple. With the exception of the headgear and the impressions issue, in all honesty, I'd rather have the simplicity of the 70s but the ortho I saw last week looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked if I could just do traditional banding.
He's also probably 15 years younger than I am.
Anyone else have a history lesson?
1. No one went to an ortho until about age 10 or 11, never under 10 unless serious malformations. There just wasn't any "phased treatment" - when you were referred either you got braces or not. No expanders, or "pre-braces" braces.
2. All teeth were banded and bracketed. There was no other option - no glue-on, lingual, invisible, or ceramic. One style was all there was, basically.
3. Now, you all won't believe this part. Maybe it was my ortho, or the times, I don't know, but after my consultation we (with mom as I was 12) scheduled a banding appointment a few weeks out. The assistant handed me a small envelope, and this is what she said, "Inside this envelope are little rubber tubes called spacers. One week before you are to get your braces, I want you to put one of these between each of your teeth." Yes folks, we inserted our own spacers!!! Or not, as the case may be. If I got two in I was lucky. And, they were not like rubber bands, but oblong rubber tubes which stuck out the front and back of your teeth. If you think braces are bad, imagine black plastic tubes sticking out between each and every pair of teeth, upper and lower. So, you can imagine I didn't really care that I didn't get them in since I wasn't wild about the "spacer look." (for those wondering, mom was not home a lot so she didn't notice if I did or didn't put them in or not).
Here's the catch. It didn't matter a bit. The bands went on with no problems. I know that spacers make it easier, but in my experience it does not impede treatment in any way once the bands are on (which admittedly may be a bit harder, but they're experts!)
4. Adjustments were 4 weeks generally, 5 was long.
5. Headgear was common, and was expected to be worn 24 hours a day (the AOA I think now states 12 hours a day). Back then if you had the headgear sentence, you were stuck wearing it to school and out to social events, there was no excuse for not wearing it...except many of us snuck in the bathroom during homeroom and took it off til we got on the bus to go home.
6. The ortho's instrument of torture was the "thumper." It clamped onto the bands and the ortho would retract the upper part and when released it applied force on the bands to force them down or in position. Having gone through that, I can't see how anything glue on could be as bad, but I'm sure I'll find out.
7. The "cement" or whatever it is called that is used for impressions was not as good as it is today. I am not exaggerating when I say the impression tray, with all the goop in it, had to stay in your mouth for 5 minutes. They had a timer. I almost panicked having to have impressions this year, but the assistant tried to reassure me things were different. It was horrible, and people were known to go into panic attacks for fear of not being able to breathe with the plastic and mold filling up their mouth for 5 minutes.
But, that's it. You got braces, elastics, headgear, retainer (not told to wear long-term though) and life was pretty simple. With the exception of the headgear and the impressions issue, in all honesty, I'd rather have the simplicity of the 70s but the ortho I saw last week looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked if I could just do traditional banding.
He's also probably 15 years younger than I am.
Anyone else have a history lesson?