Nothing inherently wrong with an individual getting veneers or cosmetic surgery, but I really liked this article and its discussion of some of the things that have been on my mind lately as I start to age and reconsider how much I’ve been affected by social ideas around how we’re supposed to look (and as my teeth become slowly more tea-tinted).
“These perfect, inhuman teeth embody a phenomenon that I am calling “hotness creep.” Hotness here is emphatically not about beauty — which is rooted in nature and often results from an unexpectedly pleasing assembly of imperfections — and it’s not about being sexy: messy, raw and alive. Hotness, by this definition, cannot be achieved through regular means, e.g. a combination of genetic luck, fitness and nutrition; hotness here must be bought and rigorously maintained through laborious, expensive and possibly dangerous upkeep“
This rubs me the wrong way given that very many people need orthodontia for medical reasons, because their bite would otherwise be so wonky it leads to pain, or to extreme wear on the teeth that can lead to losing them. When orthodontists correct a medical bite issue like this, they straighten out the teeth, too - maybe more than is necessary, sure, but it’s generally better to overshoot and be sure the pain or cause of damage is fixed rather than not doing enough.
Nobody should be ashamed of crooked teeth: this is true. But equally, nobody who has hollywood straight teeth because they needed a medical issue fixed should be shamed and told they look “creepy” for it.
Imo, there’s no shame in getting orthodontia just because you prefer that aesthetic or really don’t like the way your teeth currently are, either. None whatsoever.
The solution to the existence of an arbitrary beauty standard is not “well, everybody who does fit that standard actually looks creepy/[insert insult here]”.
I think this is akin to saying something like: women should never have to wear make-up or suffer judgement for choosing not to wear it, therefore women who do like and wear make-up are bad and it’s okay to insult and make fun of them and their choices about their own personal appearance. Or that because women shouldn’t be required to wear pink or dresses, we should shame those who do wear pink and dresses. Or that because people should not be insulted for being fat, it’s therefore okay to insult people for being skinny. It’s a ridiculous way of thinking and doesn’t solve the original problem at all.
And it just makes a situation where people can’t win no matter what they do - crooked teeth, or no make-up? You get insulted. Straight teeth and make-up? You get insulted in a different way. And as always, everyone who isn’t cis, white and male will have their appearances nitpicked this way the most.
The article only barely mentions orthodontics like braces, retainers, etc. and not as the substance of her major criticism. I don’t think she’s trying to call out the groups that you are mentioning, and in fact, the doctor she rhetorically highlights as “good” is the one recommending braces over veneers.
It’s the veneers and crowns she is mostly critiquing. She also unpacks how the standards for beauty are affected by celebrities doing this as a trend. Specifically, the procedures she is critiquing make an effect that is only achieveable by paying for the procedure, and the cost of getting and maintaining it makes it a class signifier. The financial elite set the standard.
You’re valid and your thoughts are a valid contribution to the discussion, but I figured I could clarify that in case you or other people didn’t see that in the article.
Imo, there’s no shame in getting orthodontia just because you prefer that aesthetic or really don’t like the way your teeth currently are, either. None whatsoever.
Even though I agree with what you say, I think the article was not an attempt to shame people who get their teeth fixed for whatever reason, cosmetic or functional. I perceived it more like an attempt to explore the extend of the unrealistic standards propagated through media, cinematic or web based.
I mean, what about body dysmorphia? It’s not the people who fall into this trap that are the issue. They are not vain, and they probably actually suffer in more ways than one. They are actually the victims of unrealistic standards propagated by media. I believe that attacking those standards is not the same as attacking the people that identify themselves in them.
And it doesn’t really stop at the teeth. It’s everywhere. Bodybuilders struggling for years to achieve physiques that are not only impossible to achieve without PED’s but actually also harmful to their health (especially if they start using drugs). Men injuring their bodies in countless ways to match false standards of what strength is supposed to look like. Women performing dangerous and sometimes clearly unhealthy plastic surgeries to match false standards of what attractive female figures are supposed to look like. Young people getting their faces changed permanently before they actually get a chance to experience the world fully.
This is not a new thing either. If you start looking into our past, there have been countless types of clothes that fit like a fingerless glove which people used to wear in order to conform to whatever social standards were at the time.
What is new though, is the extend to which these standards spread through modern media… Comparing the current situation to the one before the web, like for example the extend to which magazines or tv shows could influence people’s standards, looks scary to me. Oppressive to say the least.
Perfect teeth tracks with the sense that everything must be eternally perfect and sterile and flawless. Not just people parts, but objects as well. Read reviews of people furious that the Apple Watch they bought developed tiny scratches after a year and Apple refused to replace it for free. Or the people pissed that their white shirt was stained after they spilled wine on it and demanding a refund, or that their 2 year old fleece sweater has pilled so something must be wrong with it so throw it away.
And yet these same people are struggling with the anguished desire to be unique and special. A crooked tooth is unique. A cleverly embroidered shirt hiding a stain is special. De-pilling a sweater takes work, but now you invested your time into your object and increased its value to you.
Is it a money thing? Only poor people have flaws? Only poor people own objects that show signs of wear or age?
I didn’t make it through the entire article before it was asking to subscribe, but I got the gist.
On the civilian side of things, I grew up with a mother who was obsessed with teeth. She believed that her naturally straight teeth (genetic lottery) and my naturally jacked up teeth would have people believing we weren’t related.
Too bad for her we were broke hillbillies so… I only had braces for about 2 years on my top teeth. I wore my retainers after that for as long as possible (I kept chewing through them), and finally after 8 years I said screw it.
The orthodontist was the town dentist and he cut corners like crazy. It turned out fine and fixed the snaggletooth…
BUT! From age 7 until 14 or 15 my mother would not let me smile with my teeth. If I laughed in public she would make a face and say something about my “ugly mouth”.
I am of the opinion, especially since I moved from NA to Europe, that braces should be covered by health plans. Either everyone should have the opportunity, or we need to stop judging. I don’t think we can do the latter. 99% of my students have perfect teeth, and the 1% who do not clearly struggle with this detail.
That’s some wild narcissist shit “don’t show that you are happy because you will make me look bad”
I handled it pretty well. My brother was very precocious and might be referred to as “gifted” today. He had it all figured out by 6 and let me in on what to expect. I was mostly amused because I would look at him and he would give me an “I told you so” look.
My teeth sucked, too. If I could have had them fixed as a kid it would have saved me decades of jaw pain and cracked teeth.
It is the veneers that really upset me. I remember one of the model shows. They gave one of the contestants the option to have her teeth re-done with veneers. What she really needed was a year or two of real orthodontics. But no, they ground down her teeth and put on these crappy veneers that will need a life time of extra care. They basically ruined her teeth just for the competition.
Orthodontics is not a long term solution either. You either need to ware a retainer to keep it, or have a fixed bridge that holds them. Teeth are not meant to be stationary. Mine, I didn’t ware anything for 35 years but at 55 I had to start using a retainer again because they were moving too much. Wish I had started with a retainer again 5 or 10 years sooner.
Humans were not designed to live to/past 50.
After around 30 it’s downhill all the way.
Thus, orthodontic correction gives many people a higher quality of life, correcting bad teeth positions or help compensating for “excess” teeth.
Personally I had a fairly ok set of teeth, but the size of them would have likely made getting my wisdom teeth a pain. Only reason this was ever picked up was because I had 5mm overbite and could choose to get orthodontic treatment with braces.
My specialist took one look inside my mouth and said “wow, that’s a lot of teeth”. I feel like that’s like taking your car to the mechanic and he opens the hood and says “wow, that’s a lot of engine”. Yeah man, it’s your job!
Anyway, I pulled four molars, had braces, and for the longest time three out of my four wisdom teeth did not bother me at all.
But, the one in my lower right jaw decided to go tunneling, and instead of coming up, it went sideways into the roots of the next tooth.
So they sliced my jaw open, cut the tooth in half, and took out the two pieces and sowed the hole back together.
13 years later the wisdom tooth that was supposed to push against the removed one decided to try to escape and started pushing against the jaw bone at the bottom. It basically extended beyond my other molars.
Teeth are such a great source of pain and discomfort, and I think it’s crazy that people would play around with surgery like what you first describe, but I suppose these people don’t know any better.
Yes. I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth. They were taken out pretty early. Even with wisdom teeth fine my jaw was too small. Probably should have had 4 more removed. Instead had every thing pushed back and aligned highly. I was doing orthodontics for 15 years as a child. Worked great for decades but at 50 it all started to collapse pretty fast. So now I use a retainer to keep it from going did further.
I remember the wisdom teeth sugury. Went to the hospital and a dental surgeon took them out. They put me out. Remember my dad getting the bill. He was way impressed at how much it cost. Said it went into major medical.
I lucked out and only had one wisdom tooth. Genetics or something. They still put me under to remove it though.
I still cringe thinking about it. My dentist was our neighbor (not the surgeon though). I remember one weekend my mom was worried it was getting infected and called him. He said … oh… I’ll meet you a my office in a 1/2 an hour. He’s happy to take a look and is marveling at how great a job the other guy did. It was fine and he charged us nothing. That was all back in the days medical people were more focused on care and treated patients like people not profit centers.
I only really notice in movies where perfect teeth take me away from reality.
