Jump to content
IGNORED

If Emily grew up so rich...


chiccy

Recommended Posts

Meh, my husband and I are fairly well-off, and I'd have to seriously consider braces for our spawn if a) they weren't medically necessary, just cosmetic and b) our children weren't uncomfortable with the appearance of their teeth.

My teeth was pretty twisted when I was a kid; they've corrected as I grew, which I never would have expected, so now my teeth are basically straight (two are slightly out of position, but they look fine). Braces to me aren't worth fixing such minor issues now, and I'm glad I didn't have multiple years of braces and retainers as a kid for what might well have been the same end result.

My husband had braces as a kid, and they did something with his palate (I don't know the orthodontic lingo, sorry!) so that now he has a gap in the roof of his mouth. His teeth are very straight, but at the cost of some pulled teeth (in order to make space) and a hole in the roof of his mouth to his sinuses?

I just wouldn't jump straight to braces as essential for any cosmetic 'imperfection'. Now, if my kids want them, then absolutely. But I'm not going to push if they aren't needed and they're happy with their appearance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 59
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Ugh. I hated my braces but they were medically necessary (otherwise I would have to have my jaw wired shut after a surgery like a friend of mine had done), and I looked great once they were off. I wore my retainer for a year but lost it, and then my teeth shifted :( I actually have nightmares about my teeth falling out, thanks to the shifting and the weird gap I have now.

i am still pissed at myself for losing my retainer :( I think my teeth would have been so much better today if I had not lost it.. ah well. At least I have teeth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had retainers and when asked if I wanted braces I said no so that was the end of it. I wish now my parents would have made me get them. I didn't know many kids who had braces when I was a kid,now every kid I know gets them.(Including 2 of my 3 and the 3rd will have them as well)

This. My mom took me to the dentist a grand total of 1 time when I was growing up, and then it was her husband who took me. I needed braces and wisdom tooth removal and none of it was ever taken care of. She mentioned that if I wanted braces that she would get them for me, but what teenager wants braces? I am lucky I have good dental insurance now, because it has all fallen on me as an adult.

My kids will be getting braces if they need them, no questions asked. They are also at the dentist every 6 months.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish I'd gotten braces! I grew up in one of those places where EVERYONE got braces. I was from an upper middle class household but my mother was scared of dentists so I didn't get to go until I was old enough to pay for myself (and despite no dental care EVER I only had two tiny cavities in my back molars *bragbragbrag* and fortunately I don't have wisdom teeth at all, so I didn't have to deal with that!). My bottom teeth are a bit crowded, so I end up with food stuck in them all the time... Plus, I have a gap in my upper teeth AND they're super sharp because they were never filed down to get rid of the ridges, so I end up biting through my tongue on a regular basis. Uck. Just goes to show that you can't tell how much money a family has based on the appearance of their teeth!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sitting on mass transit, in transit to the dentist. For a decade, I've been trying to deal with bad heredity, no fluoride, and parenats who, like the fundies they are, didn't believe in routine dental care. I hate smiling, because my teeth are bad. I take care of them, but no matter what I do, I grind, clench and they break.

It used to be death from tooth infection was one of the topi killers. Why the hell is dentistry not part of normal healthcare?

I am sensitive to bad teeth comments. Some of us can't help it. I'd love an Aspen Dental makeover, but I don't have 30k! I feel sorry for Dna and anyone who can't afford dental care, and all the fundie kids who willl end up like me, choosing between keeping my teeth or buying a luxury car!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My family is solidly upper middle class and while we had regular and consistent dental care that did not include orthodontia. My Mom truly sees it as needless vanity. Unless it was causing an actual physical impairment (jaw issues, speech issues etc) my parents would never have gotten us braces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Jewel and Will Farrell might be examples of celebrities who grew up poor or middle-class, and then didn't want to get braces later because, well, you can't have braces if you're a famous adult.

I think it was Melissa Gilbert who had braces growing up, but because she was a child actor (and if I'm right that it was her, she was on a pioneer-era tv show), she had the ones that were on the underside of your teeth, so they didn't show. There are also clear ones, I think, these days?

I am forever grateful to my parents for my orthodonture. TEN YEARS of braces and headgear and rubber bands and retainers - I should still wear retainers, but gave up - but still, I needed all of it. (I suspect it was more than cosmetically needed but dear Lord, I looked like a beaver.) I would also be grateful to my orthodontist, but I suspect he is basking in the sunshine on that Carribean island he bought with the proceeds of my teeth. :mrgreen:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sensitive to bad teeth comments. Some of us can't help it. I'd love an Aspen Dental makeover, but I don't have 30k! I feel sorry for Dna and anyone who can't afford dental care, and all the fundie kids who willl end up like me, choosing between keeping my teeth or buying a luxury car!

Ditto here.

In my case, my parents just were not big fans of routine medical and dental care. We saw doctors when we were sick and dentists when we had toothaches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes, there's only so much braces can do. I had terrible teeth (one of them was almost turned completely around), and braces helped a lot (I no longer look like I got punched in the mouth), but they're still not perfect (my canine teeth are still kind of crooked). If her teeth were as bad as mine, she might have had braces, but they didn't perfect them. Other people just don't want them (they're expensive and incredibly painful).

Honestly, her teeth don't look that bad to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sensitive to bad teeth comments. Some of us can't help it. I'd love an Aspen Dental makeover, but I don't have 30k! I feel sorry for Dna and anyone who can't afford dental care, and all the fundie kids who willl end up like me, choosing between keeping my teeth or buying a luxury car!

I hear you. My husband grew up starting as middle class, but then they became poor and the dentist was not always an option. His teeth rival Dna's, and it's just not something we can afford to fix. I think some of it might be genes, too. His brother has terrible teeth and is missing a lot of them.

And when he goes to the dentist there's a bunch of pressure to spend several thousand dollars we don't have to get his teeth fixed. I fired the last dentist of mine who started harassing me with 'why didn't you have braces?,' 'you need braces.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had braces from 10-14, and I'm really glad I did, but I've noticed that orthodontists' go-to line for everyone is, "Oh, this'll take about 18 months!" Yeah right. One thing I am very grateful for is my permanent retainer that's glued to the backs of my teeth. I can see a couple teeth "fighting" against it, and I know they would've drifted if I didn't have it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we're so used to seeing perfectly white "chiclet" teeth (see below) that seeing teeth imperfections weirds us out.

dental-veneers-top.jpg

To me, Emily's teeth look fine. It's her brain that scares me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My family is solidly upper middle class and while we had regular and consistent dental care that did not include orthodontia. My Mom truly sees it as needless vanity. Unless it was causing an actual physical impairment (jaw issues, speech issues etc) my parents would never have gotten us braces.

That's how my parents saw it. The ortho claimed my teeth would cause lots of pain in the future if I didn't get braces, so my parents made me get them. Pain, huh? You mean like how I never, ever got headaches before I had braces but now ever since I had them put on, I get headaches all the time for every little thing? Right... Yeah my teeth were pretty jacked up* but I never had any pain from them until the braces were put on...

* Just to name a few: several cross-bites, both mycanine teeth came in before the baby teeth fell out so they were waaay up in my gums. Most of my teeth had to be pulled because they just wouldn't get loose on their own. One adult tooth way growing sideways so instead of coming up and pushing the baby tooth out, it would have moved forward under all the other teeth and eventually come out under my front bottom teeth (so it was PER-PEN-DIC-U-LAR). The baby tooth was pulled and a little chain was attached to the adult tooth to pull it up in the right direction. Another tooth just randomly started dissentigrating so it was pulled (took a whole 2 seconds because the roots were just nubs) and I had an implant put in. Those aren't problems solved with braces though... well, other than the cross-bites and the weird canine teeth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's how my parents saw it. The ortho claimed my teeth would cause lots of pain in the future if I didn't get braces, so my parents made me get them. Pain, huh? You mean like how I never, ever got headaches before I had braces but now ever since I had them put on, I get headaches all the time for every little thing? Right... Yeah my teeth were pretty jacked up* but I never had any pain from them until the braces were put on...

Do you have braces now? I got referred pain throughout my face from the braces. My jaw/teeth almost never hurt, just other areas of my face. It was kind-of weird and it sucked. Now if my nose starts hurting I know I should wear my retainer for awhile to get my teeth back in line, lol. I had similar issues to you though including the chains. I guess I could have just had the weird perpendicular teeth pulled and gotten implants and it would have been easier, but my dentist advised me to try to keep the teeth. I'm still having issues with one years later because part of the root is dead. I had this periodontal procedure that supposedly saved it, so we'll see. If that happens again I'm probably just going to have it pulled though. I don't know if one way is better than the other, health-wise. My wisdom teeth were sort-of doing the same thing as my other teeth and they hurt a ton. I noticed it and was in surgery to get them out in less than a week and had a pain med prescription, it was that bad. So there was probably some truth to what my dentist said if I had never gotten braces or gotten the weirdo teeth pulled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Emily's teeth look ok overall. When I was very young my family was middle class and when I was 3 one of my older brothers got braces at 14 because his teeth were horriblly misaligned and he had an overbite that later required surgery. The insurance that my parents had back then covered about 40% of orthodontics. My parents are close friends with a general dentist who referred them to another friend of his who was an orthodonist. This ortho allowed my parents to pay in installments. My parents and brother said that they really liked him and right after my brother got his braces off, my father got a large increase in his salary. My dad said that he told the ortho that if his other kids needed braces they would go to him. My sister and I didn't need braces and if we had needed them my parents would have made sure we got them.

I know a few people who have grown up in upper middle class families who never had braces as a child or teen because their parents didn't think it was a need or they liked spending money on other things. I have a friend who is 25 and had braces put on last year. He is hoping he can get them off by next year. Both of his parents had high paying jobs but they were the types of people who loved saving up money for vacations, computers, and other things. My friend was ok with his misaligned teeth during high school. When he got to college, the appearance of his teeth started to bother him so he waited until he finished college, got a nursing job and saved up some money. My boyfriend has an aunt and uncle who are upper middle class and none of their kids had braces growing up and now two of his cousins who are in their late 20's have braces.

Some celebrities have had their teeth fixed with veneers, bonding, and crowns. I remember seeing a before and after slideshow on some site that featured several celebrities' teeth. I was sort of surprised to see that Whitney Houston's daughter has a gap. Bonding could maybe fix that easily. I think some celebs like Jewel, Jon Heder and Will Ferrell are probably used to their teeth being the way they are.I think the celeb that has really bad teeth is Steve Buscemi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you have braces now? I got referred pain throughout my face from the braces. My jaw/teeth almost never hurt, just other areas of my face. It was kind-of weird and it sucked. Now if my nose starts hurting I know I should wear my retainer for awhile to get my teeth back in line, lol. I had similar issues to you though including the chains. I guess I could have just had the weird perpendicular teeth pulled and gotten implants and it would have been easier, but my dentist advised me to try to keep the teeth. I'm still having issues with one years later because part of the root is dead. I had this periodontal procedure that supposedly saved it, so we'll see. If that happens again I'm probably just going to have it pulled though. I don't know if one way is better than the other, health-wise. My wisdom teeth were sort-of doing the same thing as my other teeth and they hurt a ton. I noticed it and was in surgery to get them out in less than a week and had a pain med prescription, it was that bad. So there was probably some truth to what my dentist said if I had never gotten braces or gotten the weirdo teeth pulled.

No, I had them taken off in Oct 2004. I couldn't even wear my retainers. I'd try to wear them at night while I slept but within about 15 minutes of putting them on I'd get throbbing headaches and couldn't sleep, and then my teeth and jaw would hurt so much I couldn't eat. So my dad would go get me a milkshake and the cold would make it all hurt even more, in my teeth but it felt like an ice pick stabbing my brain. Ortho didn't want to adjust my retainer or do anything to help, so off they came.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She actually isn't in bad need of ortho from that photo, the only thing that looks a bit out of alignment is her upper right canine, which could also be the result of not wearing her retainer after ortho treatment. She doesn't appear to have any severe form of malocclusion. It's not true that having ortho is necessarily a sign of someone being wealthy. My family put two kids in braces for purely cosmetic reasons and my parents struggled to make all of the payments. It's just about something being a priority to someone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not true that having ortho is necessarily a sign of someone being wealthy.

Agreed; I was arguing the converse (that wealthy people usually get ortho; NOT that having ortho is a sign of being wealthy. I know non-wealthy people often do too.)

Her teeth do look pretty bad to me--almost like buckteeth--but I can imagine a lot worse. Like her husband's for example.

I definitely don't mean to offend anyone. It's kind of like Josh's extra weight--I absolutely would not care unless (s)he weren't also a hypocritical, self-centered lunatic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think Em's teeth look bad. MIne are similar. IMy brother and I didn't have braces growing up and our teeth are quite straight. I only have a bit of overbite from playing clarinet for 10 years; but I haven't played in many years and that has pretty much resolved itself.

My two children haven't had braces either. Our family dentist prefers to make the money himself, rather than sending his patients to orthodontists. So both kids have worn nighttime occlusal guides (made by our dentist) for years, and their teeth are beautiful. I imagine that when they stop wearing the guide, their teeth may shift, but to be honest they were never really crooked in the first place. We got our son's for him to wear till he gets his wisdom teeth out; and our daughter did have ano overbite because she sucked her thumb with gusto till about age 8. But to look at them both now you'd think they'd had braces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am never showing a picture of my mouth here.

I think most of us are probably on your side. Look at how many people are wondering what is so awful about Emily's teeth. My teeth are nothing to write home about either. (And I've had some cosmetic work done on them, they are better, but not great)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's all take in the British royals' teeth, contemplate their wealth, and then the status of their teeth.

I have a wonderful dentist (I was one of those that had a bit of 'discomfort', several surgeries on my gumlines, laser surgery to cut the gums growing over my back teeth, I had no adult teeth of the teeth next to the front, so the milk teeth were pulled and my entire upper palate was moved forward completely, then veneers...but my bottom teeth still went back to a slight crowding in the front)

I have an awesome dentist who told me a story about how she went to a conference on fixing already terribly repair work and working with what another dentist left to you. The head speaker was talking about redoing Ozzy Osbournes teeth (which look TOO good now, if that makes sense) and the dentist asked who did the awful repair work he had to fix--Ozzy answered the same dentist that does the queen's work.

I spent a lot of time at the dentist...and I will confess to loving me some sweet sweet nitrous oxide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm usually a lurker, but I'll de-lurk to talk about braces as an adult, as I have them now... and I had them for 5 years as a child. I have a class 2 malocclusion (aka an overjet, which most people call an overbite), and serious TMJ disorder. My childhood ortho fucked up when I was a kid, so I've been correcting that work ever since. :( I'm going on 18 months with another 6-9 before surgery.

Here's what you look like at 30 with gold braces. (Yeah... gold. OMG. I think I was thinking it would be "different." Kids... it's not always cool to be "different." Take note.)

This pic is the day I got them... you can tell my teeth are pretty straight already, I just need to fix my bite. (And don't judge too harshly, it was 95* and I was wearing a damn suit for work. UGH.)

If anyone wants to talk about TMJ disorder (jaw, bite, ear, and nose problems), I don't mind. In addition to braces, I just had my nasal cavities and septum fixed this past Nov. Yay for being able to breathe! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we're so used to seeing perfectly white "chiclet" teeth (see below) that seeing teeth imperfections weirds us out.

I absolutely agree. A former dentist with that sort of smile tried to talk me into putting veneers on all of my front teeth ($5K). My teeth are perfectly straight and are the color of normal teeth (not blindingly white, but whitish). I've been told many times that I have a pretty smile. No, my teeth are not all the same exact size and shape - they're not supposed to be. I told her I was happy with my teeth and she got kind of offended.

Not long after that, my husband and I were having a romantic dinner and in she walks with another (very married - to someone else) dentist in that practice, and they way they had their hands all over each other, it was clear it wasn't a professional dinner. Within a month, she wrote us a letter and told us she thought it would be better if we found a new dentist, something about their policy with patients who did not care to follow the "treatment plan". :shock:

So I'm not sure if it was because I wouldn't waste $5K on veneers, or because we caught her and the other dentist being naughty - lol. It's all good, though, b/c we think our dentist now is pretty awesome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.