I had the joy of having my wisdom teeth out in boot camp. I got sick of course.

Paradox: That's exactly why I had mine out. That's almost verbatim what the orthodonist told us. "Three years" rather than "five", though.

I pulled a number out of the air. The braces phase was probably more like three years. I also had an appliance to correct a massive overbite, and started the whole thing with a few years using a device that made room between my lower lip and teeth so they'd be able to put in braces, but those wouldn't be effected by wisdom teeth occlusion.

I think the overbite correction was a time bomb that screwed up my jaw years later, though.

I had six years of orthodontic work that failed to correct my smile. Then I got into a car wreck at age 16 and broke all four front teeth in my upper jaw (the ones they'd spent so much time re-arranging)...however, the caps they put on looked way better than the teeth they replaced.

I've often said that if I'd have known it would work out like that I'd have taken a ball-peen hammer to my grille at age 10 and saved myself a lot of trouble.

drunk: I started orthodontics at age 8. went through 3 pallet expanders, multiple retainers, braces twice, and a jaw surgery. I have a permanent retainer. I would rather let my teeth go snaggle toothed then suffer any more orthodontal torture.

ITT: cobbies Compare dentures.

No dentures for me yet just a crown.

Re: the jacket - Am I the only one who would rather have the dark green outside and the tan liner?

Roughly 30 hours until I can get off this rust bucket. Then another 12 or so until I'm home.

The color combination would look just as good that way, Ninja. It would be a very, very different feel to the whole thing, but just as good.

WISDOM TEETH. WISDOM TEETH EVERYWHERE.

Nothing much to add, except that I got the syringe too.

Ok, I can relax now. The USPS tracking site says the jacket is on the delivery truck headed to the hotel.

Clearly wisdom teeth are the best thing ever.

As a Brit, I have to say I find the American obsession with cosmetic dentistry for their children to be completely odd.

Morven: It is not necessarily entirely cosmetic. Correction of the teeth reduces wear and tear on the teeth. Misaligned teeth grind on each other and tend to wear out faster requiring correction after the fact. My jaw surgery was a necessity if I didn't want a mouth full of dentures or crowns instead of my real teeth.

The average middle-class person won't do more than get a checkup every six months, get corrective braces if it's really needed (and even then, they probably won't enjoy jumping through all the hoops to ensure it's covered by their dental plans), and have any problematic wisdom teeth pulled. Purely cosmetic procedures aren't usually covered by health insurance, so unless they have hundreds of dollars siting around that they don't need for anything else, they won't get their teeth bleached/capped/straightened/whatever.

Generally, this means rich people and/or models are the only people obsessed with it.

I'll also say that most of the modification of my mouth had to do with the fact that I had way too many teeth in it...they pulled something like eight teeth to make room for those that were coming in. That would have been unpleasant.

Not that I believe America's obsession with perfect pearly whites is particularly healthy either...

I just devoted an entire paragraph to saying that the average American citizen doesn't have an obsession with straight teeth.

I have never heard someone in my city say something to the effect of "I am, or one of my children is, going to the dentist because my/their slightly crooked and/or yellowish teeth which do not require alteration in order to avoid future and severe health problems simply will not do, and I happen to have a spare thousand dollars with which to pay for it out of my own pocket because vanity procedures tend to be uncovered by the non-universal and non-free healthcare system present in the United States."

I mean, if you've actually heard about someone perpetuating that stereotype, feel free to complain about it. But I'm going to stick by my stance that most Americans are as concerned about pearly whites as some other country is concerned with some other stereotype. Which is to say, not particularly.

edited 3rd Aug '12 6:30:29 PM by Leradny

True dat, but commercials on television and the way people who make their living from working in media look sometimes give me a really weird idea of how 'Mericans think. And I was born here.

I think bleached teeth look bleached and I've known two people who bleached their teeth. Ewww.

edited 3rd Aug '12 7:01:42 PM by blackcat

@Lera: my experience may be colored by the fact that most of my experience of the US has been in Orange County and Los Angeles, CA — definitely homes of the obsession with shallow looks over substance.

Well, that explains it.

I'm starting to believe that I have stopped making sense. I blame the bourbon. Best stay out of OTC for the nonce.

Morven: Lol. I hope the bulk of your opinions of the U.S. are not formed on the back of that visit.

I have finally figured out what I can blog about. I have a lot of crap I want to get off of my chest and a personal story I want to tell. A blog seems ideal for the format.

My hair keeps dropping. *sigh*

-gets scissors or clippers- Ok lu dear which one works best. I could give you a hair cut like a lady leather neck.