The glamour of lingual braces

The glamour of lingual braces

The history of lingual braces is short, but it’s certainly glamorous. With origins in Beverley Hills and Japan, associations with celebrities and even a link to the infamous Playboy mansion, lingual braces must surely be the most exciting of all the brace types.

Fixed braces have always been considered the most effective tooth straightening system but no model would want to be seen in metal train tracks. Over in Beverley Hills, the home of Hollywood stars, orthodontist Craven Kurz wanted to design braces which were both effective and invisible. He created ’Cruz Lingual appliances. ‘ Around the same time, Professor Kinya Fujita came up with a similar system for orthodontic patients who were involved in martial arts. His motivation was to create a system which would be gentle on the inside of the mouth. With both aesthetics and safety in mind, across a vast ocean in two different lands, the concept of hidden ‘lingual braces’ was born.

Quite soon after ‘Cruz Lingual appliances’ were created, a member of the Playboy Bunny Club approached Dr Cruz for invisible tooth straightening treatment. The Playboy Bunny is said to be the first patient in the USA to wear lingual braces. Thereafter, these hidden braces became a treatment of choice for affluent celebrities due to their discreet nature. You can read more about this period here.

Apparently, the first recorded idea for a tooth straightening treatment working from on the inner surface of the teeth dates all the way back to 1726 and was thought up by French Physician, Pierre Fauchard, also commonly known as ‘the father of modern dentistry’.

The Société Français Orthodontie Linguale was created in 1986 and another lingual society in the USA the following year. With some ups and downs, lingual orthodontics began to grow in popularity in Europe, Asia and the Americas and would soon become available to the general public. Many British celebrities such as Kelly Brook and Myleene Klass have made their lingual orthodontic treatment public.

We now have a Lingual Orthodontic Society of our own here in the UK of which Dr Asif Chatoo was a founding member. Lingual braces have come a long way since their Californian/Japanese beginnings and brackets are now smaller than ever. As with many scientific and medical advances, technology has had a big part to play in the evolution of lingual braces. Here at the clinic, we use digital technology to create the most bespoke and effective lingual orthodontic treatment possible for our patients.

2023-03-07T15:52:34+00:00For Patients|
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