EDITORIAL

A pictorial history of orthodontics, 1915-2014

Rolf G. Behrents, Editor-in-ChiefSt Louis, Mo

As part of the Centennial Celebration of the AJO-DO, approximately 2500 images published inthe Journal between 1915 and 2001 have now

been identified, scanned, and cataloged. These imagesare indicative of the issues pertinent to the rich historyof orthodontics, as seen in the Journal.

These images were collected so that they could beused in 2 video projects.

The first video, which we previewed at the AJO-DObooth during the Annual Session, features company ad-vertisements that appeared in the Journal during the last100 years and shows the advances made in orthodontictechnology and services. It is presented chronologically,without narration but accompanied by period music. Inaddition to its historical meaning, this effort is intendedto salute the companies that have supported the devel-opment of the specialty of orthodontics over the pastcentury. Readers have already seen some of the nostalgiaadvertisements, tucked away in the “white spaces” at theend of some articles published this year; these old adver-tisements were chosen based on interest and because thecompanies promoted in the ads are no longer in busi-ness. In addition, we ran “facing page” advertisementsin the Supplements published this year. Some of our cur-rent advertisers have been supporting the Journal withtheir ads for 30, 40, or 50 years or more, and we wereable to match up a few of our current advertisers withads they ran in the past.

This company advertisement video is now availableon the AJO-DO Web site and through the AAO libraryWeb site. When you view it, you will want to keep severalthings in mind. First, this is not an exhaustive catalog ofevery advertisement that ever ran in the Journal. In fact,some old ads were purposely excluded from ournostalgia ad program and video. This was not an attemptto sanitize our history, but rather reflects changes in pol-icy, law, and sensitivities that have evolved over time. Forexample, one advertisement we chose not to use showedthe famous actress Jean Harlow touting the benefits ofsmoking a certain brand of cigarettes. Another showed

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a person smoking a cigarette while contemplatingwhether to buy United States Savings Bonds. Under cur-rent AJO-DO policy, no advertisements can be shownthat involve tobacco products.

Furthermore, a few advertisements featured symbolsor content that would be objectionable to some, or evenunacceptable. For example, one ad featured a Confeder-ate flag and sword. Another showed people in blackface.A few ads included a symbol that resembled a swastika(in fact it was not a swastika, but that does not reallymatter). Finally, although an ad showing a secretarysitting on the boss's lap might have been consideredfunny at one time, it is not funny today. For perspective,though, of the approximately 1400 scanned advertise-ments collected over 100 years, fewer than 10 wereplaced in the “do not use” file.

The second video is still in production. It focuses on“Advancements of Orthodontics” over the years. Again,images scanned from the pages of the Journal arefeatured, but in this case they are not advertisements.This video will be themed so that it can be separatedinto clips devoted to different topics. In some in-stances, great strides in treatment will be seen (eg,treatment of Class III malocclusion), whereas in otherslittle progress will be noted (eg, airway). Perhaps themost interesting segment will be “The history of theworld as reflected in the Journal.” This segment willshow how wars, epidemics, dental politics, and govern-ment regulations all have fashioned our history and ourfuture in many ways.

This video might also be notable for a few exclusions.Derogatory language occasionally found its way into theJournal, but it will not make it into the video; neitherwill a few brief moments of brilliant craziness, becausetrying to explain them would cause the viewer to missthe message. As an example, a story was once told of aspeaker who presented research that involved orthodon-tic treatment on monkeys and their subsequent sacrificeand histologic study. Once concluded, a member of theaudience rose to say that he believed that such researchwould be better conducted using “poor children” insteadof monkeys.

What will you see in the video? Consider the figuresreproduced here. Figure 1 comes from an article in1931 that posed the question, “Should a dentist wear

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Fig 1. A mask for the dentist was proposed in 1931 tosolve the vexing problem of onions, tobacco, and alco-holic drinks that might have been consumed by the pa-tient or the doctor just before the appointment.1

Fig 2. Chin vibrator method.2

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a mask?” The author (Mellinger1) believed in the affir-mative but only because of the context of the time: amask should be worn because of onions, tobacco, andalcoholic drinks that might have been consumed bythe patient or the doctor just before the appointment.Figure 2 shows a jaw vibrator, which the author (Silver-man2) argued should not be used for its intended pur-pose at the time—by applying abrasive paste on theocclusal surfaces of the teeth and applying the vibrator,the practitioner would “grind in” the occlusion. Ofcourse, some Begg practitioners thought that this treat-ment was beneficial indeed. Figure 3 is the most often-used figure in the history of the Journal. It is from theBolton study of Case Western Reserve University basedon work conducted by B. Holly Broadbent, Sr. Anyauthor who wrote about growth and development inthe 1930s through 1950s seemed to need this figure orone of its variations.3 Finally, in Figure 4, the author(Spahn4) suggested that the etiology and treatment ofmalocclusion has something to do with the position ofthe body and the intestines.

Why are these videos being produced as a pictorialhistory of orthodontics? The story of orthodontics isan extraordinary evolving tale that involves dates, peo-ple, and events and includes examples of dedication,hard work, integrity, sacrifice, compassion, criticalthinking, inspiration, experimentation, and discovery,along with some wishful thinking and follies. Butmost of all, the story of orthodontics includes talesof millions of successful treatments. The young ortho-dontists of 2015 might think that everything in ortho-dontics was created just for them . . . just yesterday . . .

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but that is not the case. Our present specialty is basedon the accomplishments of our predecessors, includingour great teachers, researchers, leaders, and clinicians.Unfortunately, the young orthodontists of todaycannot meet and learn from many of those great peo-ple directly. Through a history such as this, they can goback in time and understand and appreciate what hasbeen learned before, what ideas and techniques havebeen adopted or discarded, and how such knowledgecan be applied in the future to improve orthodonticseven more. Challenge and opportunity are alwaysahead, and it is to everyone's advantage to build onwhat is known and not to repeat the misadventuresand mistakes of the past. Therein lies the responsibilityof the young orthodontists of today, for as the next100 years unfold, it will be important for them tobecome the great teachers, researchers, leaders, and cli-nicians for the next generation of orthodontists andtheir patients.

Why portray our history in pictures? See the quote.

Rolf G. Behrents

Jo

Apicture may instantly present what a book could setforth only in a hundred pages.

From the 1862 novel, Fathers and Sons,by Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Russian

novelist, short story writer, and playwright,1818-1883).

urnal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics

Fig 3. This illustration of normal developmental growth of the face was widely reproduced in journalarticles.3

Fig 4. Colon and small intestine 6 hours after a meal:A, normally situated; B,with the patient reversed(doing a headstand).4 Could the etiology of malocclusion be explained by the position of the body andthe intestines?

Editorial 357

REFERENCES

1. Mellinger HV. Should a dentist wear a mask? Am J Orthod Oral Surg1931;17:578-80.

2. Silverman MM. Equilibration of the natural dentition following or-thodontic treatment to prevent movements of teeth and other prob-lems. Am J Orthod Oral Surg 1968;54:831-60.

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthoped

3. Applebaum E. Integration of anatomic and cephalometricstudies of the growth of the head. Am J Orthod Oral Surg1953;39:612-22.

4. Spahn CA. Treatment of neutroclusion. Am J Orthod Oral Surg1934;20:627-38.

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