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THREAD: beauty and privilege
Sometimes I think about how different my life would have been if I hadn't had braces. No, really.
I had AWFUL teeth.
A lateral incisor was rotated 90 deg., a canine a cm too high, my lower teeth crowded, a serious overbite, and upper jaw too narrow.
Sometimes I think about how different my life would have been if I hadn't had braces. No, really.
I had AWFUL teeth.
A lateral incisor was rotated 90 deg., a canine a cm too high, my lower teeth crowded, a serious overbite, and upper jaw too narrow.
I had braces for 4 years, from 10 y.o. to nearly 15.
It was excruciating and I was already sort of... not a popular kid. My orthodontist was Dr. Katzen, a man my mom described in terms of his bedside manner as "Civil-War Era."
The pains of orthodontistry are many & terrible.
It was excruciating and I was already sort of... not a popular kid. My orthodontist was Dr. Katzen, a man my mom described in terms of his bedside manner as "Civil-War Era."
The pains of orthodontistry are many & terrible.
The tightenings are the most obvious, but no one talks about the soreness of jaws as your teeth move at glacial speed inside your bones, or the lacerations inside your cheeks that ulcerate from the naked wires stabbing them, but the worst for me was the headaches from the bridge.
See, a palate bridge spans your upper molars and is used to widen the upper jaw. Twice a day, you insert a tiny key into the bridge and give it a 1/4 turn. A gear in the device expands the bridge infinitesimally.
Sometimes I could hear my bones splintering from within.
*crack*
Sometimes I could hear my bones splintering from within.
*crack*
Ultimately, this high-end barbarism gave me the smile I have today, but not just that; it reshaped my face.
I have high cheekbones but they'd be narrow if not for the work. My overbite would bring my chin back an *inch*.
My teeth would look like tombstones in an earthquake.
I have high cheekbones but they'd be narrow if not for the work. My overbite would bring my chin back an *inch*.
My teeth would look like tombstones in an earthquake.
I really would look like a different person altogether. In the end, I found myself in show business, performing circus acts, acting in video games or theatre, and smiling, smiling, smiling.
How different would things be if not for my mother insisting on orthodontics?
How different would things be if not for my mother insisting on orthodontics?
Teeth are a big deal in the US. People judge each other's smiles, whether they admit it or not, and poverty remains a barrier to good dental care, which means that bad teeth are a symptom of poverty and a marker of class.
We should do better. Everyone deserves good health.
We should do better. Everyone deserves good health.
I'm thankful for my good fortune and my "shut-up-you're-getting-braces" Mom, and for Dr Katzen's brutal skill, which got 8 years of work done in half the time and at a discount, probably because Mom was Southern OR's weed dealer at the time.
So like, #medicare4all
So like, #medicare4all
