What do you think of people with crooked teeth?

[SamanthaClavier]

well,i can say that before i even thought i would EVER be able to afford braces i did look at ppl's teeth but not AS MUCH as i do now.before i didnt even notice a midline now i am always looking :/ and i also pay attn to over bites(for some reason most ppl i see that have had braces have an over bite?>!?!?!!?)

[Dodger(UK)]

Well as expected, with a post like this that is 4 pages long, contributed by the well educated and opinionated folk of MMMB, there's not an awful lot to add. Just more of the same really, I for one, could never judge and form oppinons of someone who had crooked teeth. Got to say though, that since having braces, I do notice crooked teeth more than I did pre-braces. Probably due to the fact that I sustain eye contact more. lol

[susieq182]

i grew up in a family that has bad teeth and not just my parents and brothers my entire family. If i where to be mean and judge people with bad teeth I would be one lonely girl. Most of my family has gappy teeth but some have crowding, but we all have bad canines that seem to just not go where they belong. They hang out way up high almost like they are thier own row of teeth. I was very fortunate because mine actually came in where they belonged they were and still are rotated but I didnt have the family fangs. I never would have gotten braces if I didnt have TMJ. I liked my teeth and plan on just doing braces and no other treatments such as bonding unless it is needed for dental health. My dentist and ortho have both brought up my "snaggle tooth" needing bonded or capped or something to keep it from rotting. you can see it in my before pic. At anyrate I grew up with diverse smiles so eventhough i notice peoples teeth alot since I got brace I figure they are either happy with what they have or can't do anything about it and who am I to judge them. Just a note I was never picked on about my teeth, but I had glasses starting at age 4 so I got called four-eyes for the better part of my childhood. Children can be very mean. But one lesson I learned as a child resounds in my head everytime I have the urge to judge someone or treat them poorly "DO UNTO OTHERS as YOU would LIke Done Unto You"!!!!

[JoeMama]

I notice teeth more often now and would never hold crooked or discolored teeth against anyone. BUT the other day I was watching the news where a woman from the Wall Street Journal was being interviewed. She looked great and very professional, and then she smiled. Her teeth were really crooked and I remeber my reaction was to think how much better she'd look if she got them fixed. And I almost felt like she would be taken more seriously with straight teeth.

And then I thought about my reaction and why I felt that way. Are straight teeth a class thing in the US? (I think yes, even though I don't like that concept) If you're feeling sorry for someone because of their teeth, is that just a nicer-sounding way of judging them? I have a bad-teeth family too, and have dated some bad-teeth-ers, so it's not something I have an issue with. But I can't help but think how much nicer it would be for these folks to get them fixed. I know I'm happy that my teeth will look better, in fact that's a big part of why I'm wearing braces. Hmmmmm.... I guess susieq182 put it nicely, that "they're either happy with them, or they can't do anything about it". --- And neither is really any of my business!

[jcdamon3]

And then I thought about my reaction and why I felt that way. Are straight teeth a class thing in the US? (I think yes, even though I don't like that concept) If you're feeling sorry for someone because of their teeth, is that just a nicer-sounding way of judging them?

They just had an Oprah Winfrey show about this, I think it was last week. She said definitely that straight teeth are one of the big signs of class (lower, middle). Don't shoot the messenger. I am just telling you what she said. (Go send her a nasty email if you don't agree! ). Anyway, I was very surprised. I thought she was going to say the car you drive! I was shocked when she said teeth. The reason she said teeth was because she said that if you have the money you are going to have your teeth fixed. She has sort of an overjet BTW Anyway, we all know here that some people are just plain afraid to go to the dentist, let alone the ortho, so we know that it is not always about whether or not you have money. I do agree though after reading the thread about why people didn't have braces as kids - the majority of people said that their parents did not have the money. And even in some cases we know the parents may have had the money but it was not important to them.

I have dated all kinds of men - good looking, not so good looking, great teeth, not so great teeth. One guy really did gross me out though because it looked like he hadn't been to the dentist in years and I could literally SEE the plaque. Ewww..

[JoeMama]

They just had an Oprah Winfrey show about this, I think it was last week. She said definitely that straight teeth are one of the big signs of class (lower, middle). Don't shoot the messenger.

I wouldn't shoot the messenger! I think it's true, and interesting that Oprah had a show about it. I think we judge people on appearances all the time, but I think that most of us don't want to admit it. Probably because we would like to think that we're above that sort of thing, or aspire to be above that sort of thing. I also think there's a difference between thoughts and actions. If I was to see someone and have the thought, yikes! those are some crazy teeth go through my head, I would still treat that person as nicely as I would treat anyone else. I think that "sizing people up" is part of our nature, we're a pretty competitive species. Acting like an a-hole or actually treating someone poorly is where the line gets crossed.

[jcdamon3]

Well the show wasn't about teeth specifically, they talked about alot of other stuff. There was alot about the kinds of education and opportunities available to the kids in middle class vs lower class. Actually they call it working class with is much more politically correct. Anyhow it is very sad in this country that not everyone gets the same opportunities. They also talked alot about how it is harder and harder in the US to move from Working Class to middle class. Minimum wage is WAY too low. Folks can't get ahead either because of the lack of Health Care. It is sad that working folks cannot get a leg up. All they have to do is be sick one time and it wipes them out financially.

There are so many social justice issues available to worry about we don't know where to start.

Anyhow back to the teeth thing. There are two brite smile centers (teeth whitening) within a few mile radius of my house and all the dentists are whitening teeth now so this is very mainstream.

They can also take the dents out of your car while you wait for $50 - $89.00 a dent. So you can have straight, white teeth and no dings in your car! Get a little touch up paint and you are good to go for a little less than $1,000.00 ! Okay I am really digressing again.

[butterfly]

Teeth are a sign of class. It is the same thing here. If you own a business you simply cannot afford to have bad teeth. People would think your business must be in a bad shape because anyone with bad teeth obviously has a money issue. This was one of the reasons I got braces.

[Avion19]

I think it's mainly the U.S. that finds it important to have straight teeth. I'm originally from Japan and the people there have really bad teeth, but they don't fix them. It's not because of the money, but because they don't find it important to have nice teeth. They actually think it's cute to have crooked teeth. A lot of the celebrities in Japan have bad teeth too, which is unlikely in the U.S.

[tofino]

Hi.

Quite frankly I didn't have the time to read through every post in this thread, but I think I understand what missingtooth writes, although I must say I distance myself from what was written.

But for those who completely dismiss the superficial, what do you say about the man who reeks of body odour and who refuses to use deodorant or anti-perspirant? What is the difference between an olfactory assault and a visual assualt? The simplicity or cost of the solution to the problem?

Cheers

Glen

[butterfly]

Developed countries... indeed. Open the "Frappr" map with the archwired members on it. It basically shows a map of the civilised world. On the other hand it is important to point out that teeth problems and misaligned jaws are much less prevalent in the so called third world. This is because of the bad food we eat.