I don't see the relationship between having braces and losing personality. I got braces when i was in middle school or early highschool. They were a pain in the ass when I had them, but I am thankful that my parents paid the money to have them. I don't think it was really about being able to eat, it was about having nice teeth so i didn't look weird. I am very happy I got them cause now I have straight teeth

I don't like it when people's natural, healthy bodies are defined by society as "weird" and "in need of correction," Dirty. So, that's why I don't like the idea of braces for cosmetic reasons.

It's as if humans go out of their way to put each other down all the time...and even put their children down, too...instead of encouraging self-esteem that doesn't depend on appearance. Aren't British people known for not embracing braces? And yet they manage to lead semi-decent lives, don't they?

I also don't like it that braces for cosmetic reasons are so expensive and intrusive in a child's life. Thousands of dollars are spent to create the "perfect" smile, probably to emphasize that a family has wealth so that, the parents hope, doors are opened for the child in the future. Braces have become a status symbol, a way for wealthier classes to distinguishes themselves (or their children) from "commoners."

Since this is the member picture gallery, I thought I better post a picture, so here...you can see my teeth. I remember lying in bed in pain as a teenager after my braces were tightened...to achieve this picture. And I remember I hated my retainer. I finally rebelled and stopped wearing it when I was in college, so my teeth are slowly getting a little crooked again:

My teeth:

http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/u...yEricaBeay.jpg

Well, to be fair, it is correcting a dental problem that can potentially lead to poor oral health in the future. You can't know if you'll get impacted wisdom teeth when you're 10 years old (ie), so why risk it when you can do something to help ensure the health and longevity of your teeth when you're young? I see what you're saying, Vegan, but I don't think braces are on par with botox.

I agree, Pedestrian, if there is a medical reason for braces, then I support them. But when they are put on a child for cosmetic reasons, that bothers me. Also, it doesn't make sense to me to slap expensive braces on almost every child just in case there will be problems later.

When I was a child, I didn't have any major teeth alignment problems, but I did have canine fangs and a gap between my front teeth. And eventually I had to have my two wisdom teeth removed anyway.

Doesn't it seem odd that humans have so many teeth alignment issues??? What other animal has all these problems with the mechanism they use to eat?

I just dont reject society's views like you do, seemingly with everything. I'd rather have nice looking, straight teeth than crooked teeth with gaps everywhere. One just looks better than the other. I definitely wouldn't be as confident smiling if I hadn't got braces when I was a young teen. The British are more known for having bad teeth than not embracing braces, but I suppose they are pretty much the same thing in different words. I don't think it has anything to do with wealth either. I think you are looking too much into it, I think a lot of parents just don't want their kids to grow up with ugly teeth. If you wanna respond and keep discussing it, we can move to another thread or something cause i can already hear the 'omg quit clogging up the pic thread!'

omg quit clogging up the pic thread

I'll get this thread back on track.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6640029_n.jpg


This picture looks like the rapture...

Yeah, your face is all..."sup, Jesus."

Wisdom teeth are just like our appendix and our goosebumps; leftovers from evolution. We used to have wider, broader jaws with flat molars for grinding plant matter. Animals have these redundant organs/bones/muscles as well. Ours just happen to be a pain in the arse.

Ok, I was just joking before but seriously...enough of the teeth discussion.