People have been trying to align crooked teeth for thousands of years. The first recorded attempt at straightening teeth on a living person was by a Roman, Aulus Cornelius Celsus. He used his own hands to try to move his teeth and, surprisingly, documented some success. Devices similar to mouthguards were later used to straighten teeth, then eventually metal wires and brackets were tried. Orthodontics has come a long way over those first early attempts.