FROM ANCIENT EGYPT TO STANFORD UNIVERSITY A BRIEF HISTORY OF ORTHODONTICS
When you think of trades and professions that transcend continents and millennia, you’d be forgiven for not having considered orthodontics to be among them. The truth, however, is that even thousands of years ago, humans were looking for innovative ways to straighten their teeth. Just be thankful our methods have improved a little over time!
Fauchard and Pierre Bourdet, wrote about the “Bandeau,” a mouthguard-like device that supposedly kept a person’s teeth in place. Bourdet also discovered that removing a person’s wisdom teeth could reduce crowding in the mouth — a procedure common to this day.
Throughout the 1800s, creative orthodontic minds created crude braces using wire and elastics. In 1864, Dr. S.C. Barnum invented the dental dam. The term “braces” didn’t actually exist until the 1900s, however, after which point dentists continued to use whatever materials they could to create something roughly resembling today’s metal braces. In the 1970s, the advent of stainless steel and dental adhesive made them far less damaging and far more efficient at straightening crooked teeth.
The first evidence of orthodontic work came from ancient Egypt. Some mummies have been found with cord, made of animal skin, wrapped around their teeth. Similarly, ancient Etruscans (the people on the Italian peninsula before the Romans) would outfit the teeth of their dead with mouth guards to keep the teeth from caving in as the body decayed.
In ancient Rome, a medical doctor named Aulus Cornelius Celsus documented his attempts to straighten teeth with the force of his hand (we do not recommend this). At the same time, some Roman burial remains have small gold wire in their teeth, supposedly used to achieve a similar result to Celsus’ experiments. After the fall of Rome, during the so-called Dark Ages and the Renaissance, not much progress was made in the realm of orthodontics. However, in the 1700s in France, two dentists, Pierre
Then, in 1997, Invisalign braces were invented by a Stanford University graduate named Zia Chishti using 3D imaging software to create a model of a person’s mouth and a pair of plastic aligners to slowly move teeth into place. Orthodontics has come a long way over the past few thousand years — and it’s most certainly not done improving.
LOUD! Laugh Out
EASY ZUCCHINI ENCHILADAS
This healthy summer dish is the perfect way to use up extra zucchini!
Ingredients • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 onion, chopped • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 2 tsp cumin • 2 tsp chili powder • Salt, to taste • 3 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. 2. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Cook for 1 minute, then add chicken and 1 cup enchilada sauce. Stir to combine.
• 1 1/3 cups red enchilada sauce, divided • 4 large zucchini, sliced very thin lengthwise and dried • 2 cups shredded cheese • Sour cream and cilantro, for garnish
3. On a cutting board, lay out three slices of zucchini side by side.
Top each with a scoop of chicken mixture, then roll into a tube. Repeat with remaining zucchini slices.
4. Add the rolls to a baking dish. 5. Top the rolls with the remaining
enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with garnishes!
(650) 342-4171 | 3
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker