Do you think people w/ straight teeth just don't understand?

[ingyandbert]

Wow, how cool is that? I would love to see a photo of what my smile might look like in the end. I guess you can paste your sister's smile on your photo and get an indication.

[weird_wired]

I had a friend ask me how much my braces were a while ago, and I replied $3,500

And one more thing to consider: straight, uncrowded teeth can significantly reduce the chances of gum disease and tooth decay.

I am sure plenty of people with straight teeth know just how expensive a filling or root canal can be - the less we have to pay out for, the better. Braces might actually work out cost effective for some people in the long run

[nimo]

I'm fortunate---beyond fortunate. My treatment is covered completely by my insurance. Every wire, every piece of rubber, every second of surgery. Lucky, lucky, lucky.
On my end of things, people with straight teeth, those who were fortunate enough to have braces when they were younger don't understand why my teeth are still crooked. I cover my mouth when I laugh, when I talk, when I yawn. I don't smile much, or I duck my head because I notice people staring at my crooked teeth. And rather than asking me, or thinking about the words that come out of their mouths, quite a few people have asked why my teeth look so bad, why didn't I do anything about it? As if I want to look like this.
And the great thing is that I'm sure I'll encounter people who will ask, "Why did you get braces? I would have just gotten over my crooked teeth and moved on."

[Way Too Old For This]

Wow Marzipan, that is a great idea.

What surprises me is how many people comment on my braces-- period. Its like I have to hear everyone's opinion whether I want it or not. I have never gotten so many comments about anything I've done in my whole life. If someone didn't like the clothes I am wearing they would not comment, I don't know why they have to tell my I'm crazy for getting my teeth fixed. And it is usually people with beautiful teeth that cannot understand. I have two daughters, one had braces the other didn't (but needed them and we couldn't afford it at the time). The one who had the braces and has beautiful teeth (age 30) thinks I am crazy. The one who needed them and didn't get them was so inspired by me that she agreed to get them now at age 26! So we go together to the orthodontist.

As for cost? I don't think the cost of braces has gone up that much since my daughter's compared to the cost of everything else. I think for what we get and the time spent with the orthodontist, its a bargain. My treatment is $5,500, and daughters $5,000. (she got the family discount!) I will be going every other week to the orthodontis for 2 1/2 years. Thats like 65 visits.

My friend just spent $17,000 on a face lift and no one noticed the difference!

[hannah164]

I find that a lot of my friends wiht straight teeth or pretty darn close, don't understand what I'm going through but try to sympathize with all the pain with it. But they can't "understand" unless they've been through it. I still feel kind of weird tallking to them about it.

-Hannah




Top braces: 4/28/04
Bottom braces: 11/16/05
Next Adjustment is 2/1/06 where they will bond a bracket to my cuspid which was impacted!!!!

[drazda]

Thanks for all the replies:) Of course you guys would understand!

[luxekitty]

I had a friend ask me how much my braces were a while ago, and I replied $3,500. She was shocked and thought I was crazy for spending that much on braces. Mind you, her teeth are straight! I know it's expensive, but I only have one set of teeth my whole life, and I want them to be straight. Why would I want to be self conscious about smiling and laughing my whole life?

Her comments kinda upset me. Does anyone else have friends with straight teeth who just don't get it?

Maybe your friend wasn't trying to be so insensitive, I think sometimes people with straight teeth take it for granted, well, because they never had to deal with having a less then perfect smile. She probably wasn't saying it to hurt you though. I remember when I asked one of my friends if she'd ever had braces her response was a quick and rude "No way!". I actually didn't talk to her for awhile, but I calmed down.

We all have things we can take for granted though, my nephew was born deaf (a bit more serious) but all the same it just thought me to take in every sound, simple or not a little more.

//ramble

[Leslie022]

My friends and a lot of people around me support my decision to better my smile. There have been a lot of people I work with that don't seem to understand why I wanted braces. The most popular question was "Why did you get braces? Your teeth are straight!" Yes my teeth are "straight" but I have a gap right in the middle of those straight teeth! It is annoying but I don't let it bother me.

[lilpikachu]

I think a lot of people I told that I planned to get braces thought I was crazy.

My parents told me they didn't think I needed braces and that they'd heard from a friend of theirs that you experience constant pain. Maybe they thought I couldn't take the pain or something. My boyfriend said he never noticed my teeth before (which was really sweet) and a lot of my co-workers said I would be better off spending the money on a holiday.

As much as I would love to go on holiday, I think my teeth are more important. As drazda mentioned before, having straight teeth means you don't have to feel self conscious about your teeth and smiling. After 21 years of feeling self conscious about my smile, I'm glad I put the money I spent on wisdom teeth removal and braces to good use.

Getting braces was one of the best things I've ever done and I can't wait to see how straight my teeth will look in the end.

The funny thing is, hardly anyone comments on my braces! It's like they're invisible or something (and I wear metal ones!)

The only bad thing is I've got those dreaded black triangles between my teeth and gum recession. I probably have to save up for gum surgery once I've paid for my braces

[tandi]

i dont think people with straight teeth understand at all and why should they. people's teeth are probably something they dont focus on and probably wouldn't really notice someones teeth unless the were really gross or something.
when i asked a friend of mine what is the first thing she notices about a person and she said it was their eyes. i was suprised that she didnt think a persons smile was that important.
as for me, teeth are the first thing i notice about a person. and i base beauty on how pretty a person smile is.
its sad but the first thing i zoom in on are teeth, because mine are so bad i expect perfection from everyone else.
this really sounds bad but sometimes i think part of the reason for me getting braces was to hide my teeth so that people would focus on the bracets and not my teeth.

[KJM]

People I work with, people I see every week, people I go on holiday with, people I've stayed with ... hardly any have said anything and I've chosen to take the path, that if they don't feel the need to say anything, then they must be cool about it (or don't care etc) therefore 'don't bring the subject up'.

There's been times I'd have liked someone to have said something ... almost like I was wanting to explain whay I was having orthodontic treatment ... but it's just not happening!

I am having the same experience as you KK. No one even mentions them- even though I have had some great progress my family, friends and neighbors that I am close with dont even say a word.

Sometimes I just have to conclude, People are strange. LOL

As far as people with straight teeth not understanding? I have never experienced this. Most of my friends and family ( other than my rude step mother-and her problem ISNT straight teeth, she is just a pain in the you know what) have been very nice about the whole process. I did find that my sister was a bit snippy about them but she definately needs braces as she has a big overjet problem and gaps. She was the one person that I thought would be most supportive so it took me off guard to be honest. Maybe it was jealousy?
Most of the people I know that have straight teeth, had braces when they were young, or now have dentures.