Metal Mouth Message Board

"Why on earth did you get braces? You have nice teeth!"

I've heard it about 10 times today. I'm tired of explaining how my teeth look "okay" to the casual observer, but that they're really quite crowded and I have a narrow arch and whatnot. Does anyone have a good response to this???

Just tell them you did it because you wanted to and to mind their own business. Seriously..you don't need to justify to someone else why you did it. Just thank them for any compliments and tell them it was a personal choice.

HI there,

I get this all the time too because my teeth did not look very crooked. I know there are others on the board as well that have pretty straight teeth.

Yesterday I was at my daughter's school and I was talking to some of the kids. I asked one girl if she had had braces before and she said no but she needed them. Her teeth are really straight which of course I told her. Then she showed me her deep bite and her overjet and sure enough she has some issues. Another girl standing there said, "alot of people get braces that don't need them". I figured she meant me included (this is a friend of my daughter) . I told her that sometimes there are underlying issues that can you may not be able to see, but that can cause damage.


ANYWAY:


Why don't you tell them you got kicked in the teeth by a horse and you were going t lose them all unless you got braces to hold them in while they heal. It will take 2 years to heal and in the process of saving your teeth they will end up straight as well.

say why didn,t you get them (Braces) . I feel a rude comment diserves are rude remark.

Just tell them you did it because you wanted to and to mind their own business. Seriously..you don't need to justify to someone else why you did it. Just thank them for any compliments and tell them it was a personal choice.

I think they think its a nice kind of compliment and it probably was a quick "I don't know what to say!" response that sounded good in there head. Its funny braces are about the only thing we would say such a thing about, would you say to someone who just got glasses you thought there eyes looked good and that they didn't need them? Just answer, "but my bite is way off." - or something like that. No need for the full explaination because in all honesty they probably don't care.

I've had that same comment made to me and all I say is, "Thank you for saying so." I have the same issues you do (crowding, narrow arch and a bite issue) and just because my teeth didn't look way crooked doesn't mean there weren't problems to be resolved. But I don't feel the need to explain myself when people make that comment.

I have HORRIBLY crooked teeth, and I've heard this a few times from people. "You're teeth weren't that bad to begin with". I think it's just something that people say cause they don't konw what else to say.
Or maybe it's because I've spent so much time hiding my smile that they just never noticed, or saw my teeth

Can't help out on this post!! I never had ONE single person say that to me!!! No one ever asked me why, as I guess it's been self-evident for my whole life since my adult teeth grew in!

Hi! A friend from school said the same when I told her I was getting braces. If the person is your person you can explain why you're doing this, if you don«t really know the person just ignore them. Think how wonderful your smile is going to be.
Joanna

sometimes we are a little bit sensitive about our braces i think. i dont know if that question was intended as an insult or not. i wasnt there, but sometimes people are just curious.

i personally havent gotten any negative comments, but when people ask me about my braces, i tell them it was to fix a bad bite that was causing me some problems. that is usually enough, if they want to know about impacted canines, open bites etc, they can ask. most folks dont really care about the fine details though.
chris

I would say, "Because I %&*$#@% wanted to!"

Actually I probably wouldn't. I had a lot of people ask me that when I first got them on and it really angered me. I got braces there was something wrong with my teet that only braces could fix!! My teeth were also a big blow to my self-esteem. I wouldn't have got them otherwise.

A co-worker repeatedly (and rather snidely) kept saying "Why would you put yourself through this at your age. Your teeth didn't look bad". After beating around the bush, mentioning that my dentist recommended it, etc., etc., I finally had enough. When she mentioned it again, I very calmly said "Because I don't want my teeth to fall out in a few years". She never mentioned it again.

Chris

materialsgirl wrote:"Why on earth did you get braces? You have nice teeth!"

Woah I am still waiting for this comment! It is not nearly as bad as "finally you get braces, was about time"

momof2grlz wrote:A co-worker repeatedly (and rather snidely) kept saying "Why would you put yourself through this at your age. Your teeth didn't look bad". After beating around the bush, mentioning that my dentist recommended it, etc., etc., I finally had enough. When she mentioned it again, I very calmly said "Because I don't want my teeth to fall out in a few years". She never mentioned it again.

Chris

I reckon thats a great way of putting it

1/ "Because i dont want my teeth to grind down to nubs in a few years"

2/"Because they are way too hard to clean and dont want my teeth to rot"

3/"cheaper in the long run to fix them now than have porblems later"

4/"Oh really?? I went to an orthodontist and all and he said i needed them, but since you said i dont i'll take them off because you're really qualified"

ok, maybe the last one was a little sarcastic, but some people need to be put back into line at times.