This can be very true about the U.S. Esp. in Tract House Land, in my experience. I worked with this girl who - I don't know - it was pretty much her hobby. I was a bit afraid she'd melt her teeth away one day...

My neighbor from Spain tells me I'm European. Haha. But maybe I am, sorta, when it comes to teeth. I'm a little afraid of the big, toothy American smile... and the swamp land/Brooklyn Bridge/lemon-of-a-car I'm positive it wants to sell me... or the Heathers nightmare that it might be foreboding.

I mean I'll just always be scarred by overnight camp, trapped in a bunk with girls who brought hair spray and curling irons into the freeking wilderness and who would go on ad nauseum about Crest v. Aquafresh. I thought I'd die, but I didn't know which would come first: death by boredom or death by inanity.

Funny you should ask, as my poor DH just had what's left of his uppers removed on Monday. He was born with terrible teeth. I always took my really good teeth for granted until I met him. Mine aren't "perfect", but I never needed braces, never needed my wisdom teeth pulled, and still have all of mine. Compared to DH, mine are definitely perfect enough for me!

I'm the only kid in my family (5 kids) who did not wear braces. I was always a bit jealous of them. Who knows why... Maybe all the cool kids wore them?

I have an allergy to fluoride, so I've had to work really hard to take care of my teeth, and I still get cavities.

I have a small gap between my two front teeth which I never even noticed until a dentist brought it to my attention about 10 years ago, saying he could fix it.

Next year I turn 50. I suppose that is the age when we all have a bit of a crisis about aging. I was just talking to my dentist about veneers.

So my teeth are not perfect, but they are not bad, either. They get the job done, and I'm not afraid to smile.

I'd like to add that my teeth are not white, but they weren't ever naturally white. I could try whitening them, but I don't know what the point of that would be if they were never white to begin with. It would be nice if people would recognize the various shades of white teeth and just accept it.

I didn't get braces until I had to (for TMJ), and I paid for them myself. I have 4 daughters. The oldest has fairly straight teeth and didn't need them. The second daughter has braces now that were meant to correct a jaw problem. It didn't work, and she has to have jaw surgery in January. The third one had a gap between her two front teeth, and it bothered her. The orthodontist said we could leave them as is or she could have braces. She opted for braces, but we the mean parents made her pay half the cost of them because they weren't necessary. The youngest one will probably escape the need for braces. Her teeth look good and our dentist hasn't said anything to us yet. She's 17 now, and I doubt he will.

I feel pretty neutral about how my teeth look. I lucked out in my family by getting relatively straight teeth (my mom's were crooked on the botton but not terribly noticeable, and my sister's were crooked and she got braces when she was about 21). However, they've never been terribly white, and they have small chips along the edges.

Frankly, my larger concern is the health of my gums. I seem to have inherited my dad's gum issues (he had serious dental/gum problems and grew up very poor so almost never went to a dentist, and he ended up with full plates of false teeth at an early age). About seven years ago, after an unfortunate span where I neglected to to the dentist for a couple of years, I found out I had early stages of periodontal disease. It put the fear of god into me, to be confronted with the idea of pulling teeth at the age of 43. I am now a dedicated flosser, and I feel yucky if I don't floss at least once every day. My periodontist has been impressed that I have managed to maintain (and in some cases reverse) the condition of my gums. I hate going to dental appointments, but I've gotten much more used to it, because I have quarterly cleaning and evaluation appointments. It's not cheap, but I will gladly pay.

So, even though I'd love to do something to help the cosmetic aspect of my teeth to make them whiter and smoother, I don't want to do anything that might undermine my gum health.

I read a piece somewhere recently on the trend of many dentists "upselling" their clients, talking them into expensive semi-cosmetic procedures, often with the intention of "improving the bite." I'm skeptical about a lot of this, and I don't want anything that isn't necessary.

My husband has some awful trouble with his teeth. Numerous root canals, and now he has another toothache that requires attention. He also has had some work to "correct his bite." I can't help but wonder if that did more harm than good.

So anyway, I don't think my mouth/smile is my best feature -- thin lips, crooked mouth (yes, it looks ike I'm smirking in my closed-lip smile face), and dull-colored teeth, but oh well.

As a child I had a huge gap between my two front teeth. Then, slowly over the years, my teeth grew together. I had a few years of relatively straight teeth, had my wisdom teeth extracted, and life went on. Of course, this is with the exception of my early 20s when I saw a dentist who supposedly found a cavity in nearly every single molar, which I stupidly let him clean and fill without ever getting a second opinion. (Yes, I was absolutely steaming angry when a girlfriend of mine got the same diagnosis from him, went for a 2nd opinion and found out she had ZERO cavities.)

Okay, sad story over.

The last 5 years my lower teeth have crowded terribly. One of the front bottom teeth is so crowded, it's nearly hidden, yet sticks out funny from behind the other teeth. No one sees it unless I smile big and happy. But it's still there, and it really bothered me until...

Such interesting stories. Thank you all for sharing.

I had a tendency to all off bicycles and knock teeth out when I was young. So I had one front tooth removed and the two on either side modified to hold a permanent partial. I had braces as a middle-schooler. My teeth are passable, and at a glance they even look nice. Because of the partial, I have nice "chicklet" front teeth. However, they have started to shift with age a bit. Not enough to bother me or to affect their look much or their function, so not enough to fix yet. I drink coffee regularly (addictively), so I also use whitening strips. The partial won't bleach, but at least I can keep the natural teeth on either side looking more or less the same as the partial.

I have two children in braces now, and one child who does not need braces.

Just chiming back in to say that I think perfectly straight, white teeth are overrated. I like crooked teeth (although I do understand that there is a point at which they might be too crooked!), and I even prefer certain kinds of crookedness to dead straight chiclet teeth -- for instance when a lateral incisor overlaps a central incisor a little. A front gap is often adorable in children and sexy in adults. And yellow teeth don't bother me at all. I don't totally understand our current obsession with teeth whitening (Canada's just as obsessive as the US on this). I'm not a fan of the brown stains that teeth can develop from wine and tea drinking, but the natural yellowing as we age is just fine. In fact, really white teeth in older people can sometimes look weird. I'm bracing myself for the point where my front caps no longer match my face.

Just a quick FYI PSA that removing stains is easy peasy but smokers and heavy tea/wine/coffee drinkers may choose not to wait until their next regularly scheduled checkup:

http://hesperian.org/wp-conten.....012_08.pdf

I had braces twice and headgear once, plus gum surgeries to keep my teeth from regressing, and my teeth aren't perfect. They probably would be a lot better if my orthodontist had installed a permanent retainer, which is a little wire that's permanently adhered to the back of your teeth.
That's ok. My teeth are dramatically better than they would have been if left uncorrected with a massive overbite, misaligned/rotated teeth, and horrible insecurity about my smile. My first round of braces started when I was 8, and not a day too soon.
Apparently my parents were warned by dentists when we were babies/young kids to save up for massive orthodontia, because they could tell from the x-Rays that our teeth were going to need a ton of work. They weren't wrong.

Hmm, small jaw, braces, gum recession surgery because of the braces, TMJ because my bite wasn't really fixed by the braces, oh, I grind my teeth so they look a bit worn down and I wear a night guard to prevent further damage. I love tea so they're probably stained and whitening teeth apparently ruins the protective enamel so I'm not fond of that. They still work well when I smile, laugh and eat and that's what really matters right?

Not extremely straight, but my bite is fine and never had braces. No wisdom teeth either. I did have a dentist when I was a kid who was drill crazy until my mom realized that my teeth were fine when she took me to another dentist. So a few years ago I got rid of the silver fillings since they were starting to deteriorate. I am getting some gum recession, but only on the left side. Teeth are fairly white and I noticed that my teeth and DD's are the same shade except that her teeth don't look as white since she is very fair skinned.

Poor DD was not as lucky. She was monitored by an orthodontist since age 4, who would come to her pediatric dentist's office once a week. Her mouth was small and we knew that at some point she would need braces. The dentist even had to pull out baby teeth to make room. Luckily when she was fully grown she did not have to have any permanent teeth removed. Even after braces her teeth are not perfectly straight and she had to get one tooth shaved because there was not enough room. Her wisdom teeth came out last year at age 20 and she continues to wear her retainers. Luckily too she does not have a single filling.

I think my teeth fall somewhere in the middle of the range. I've had a few cavities filled and two wisdom teeth extracted - the other two show up on xrays but have never come down enough to bother extracting. But never had gum problems and my teeth are mostly straight, aside from two canines angling in a little. My childhood dentist told me I could get braces for cosmetic reasons to fix it but I didn't.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed because both of my parents required multiple root canals as adults. This reminds me that it's time to find a dentist and make an appointment for a cleaning. It's my least favorite of all doctor's appointments.

Interesting reading. I feel for those of you that have ended up with dental issues through life situation, or bad luck with your teeth or mouth. Some people's teeth are just born stronger and straighter, and if you happen to have weaker crooked teeth and are not in a position to afford treatment it is very rough.

I don't think NZers view teeth quite the same as Americans (or maybe Canadians)....although orthodontists still drive flash cars

My son has just got braces and it is fiendishly expensive. Children get free dentistry until 18 here, orthodontics are fully private unless you quality for a special grant (you have to be pretty bad).

I've had braces twice - once in high school, and one in my mid-twenties. I had a lot of misaligned teeth and an overbite, so I don't regret the work. It wasn't a comfortable experience by any means, but it wasn't as painful as what I've heard other people experience. I choose to have braces the second time because my teeth had shifted after I stopped wearing my retainer. After the second go-around, I oped for a bonded retainer behind my lower front teeth. I think some of my other teeth have shifted again, but only very mildly so. Before I had braces, I was pretty shy about smiling, and now I have a lot of confidence about it. They'll never be bright white (coffee and tea drinker here), and I have had my fair share other dental work (wisdom teeth removal, root canals, crowns, special cleanings), but I count myself as very fortunate.

This is very interesting as a cross cultural study. I have the sort of smile where my teeth don't show very prominently, so I am not that focused on my teeth aesthetically, although I am very into hygiene rather as Janet describes above. They came in straight but I needed braces to pull in the eyetooth from the middle of my mouth (I am dramatizing slightly). I do have two tone teeth from some childhood medicine according to my dentist. My sister's teeth are much more prominent, white and even. My father and son have an under bite and my son will possibly wear braces to correct that, although my father never did. I find crooked teeth charming and a bit European on some people - most of whom are not American. My husband grew up in Brooklyn and his teeth are crooked (his parents were very old world).

I also find it fascinating how orthodontic work begins so much earlier now in many cases than when I was young. Two of my children had pre-orthodontic work done when they were in 2nd and 4th grades, respectively. My DD wore headgear at night to fix and underbite, and DS wore an expander on his upper teeth because he has a small mouth and we wanted to avoid removing any permanent teeth.

Now they are in 5th and 7th grades and are both wearing braces. The orthodontist gave us a discount because of the pre-orthodontic work he had done for them, and then I think insurance covered a measly $500. The rest was out-of-pocket. Fortunately, because we knew early on that they would need braces, we had the money saved and were able to pay in full without installments, but whoever said braces are fiendishly expensive is right - especially with two wearing them at the same time.

I agree with Aziraphale that perfect, glowing white teeth are sometimes jarring and don't fit with a person's face. I've noticed this on many actors and actresses, that their smiles are PERFECT and their teeth seem so white they might glow in the dark. Sometimes that really ruins the overall impression of a character, IMO. So I am not a fan of veneers in general for average teeth. I can understand if someone has major issues needing veneers for confidence, but too many people get them for the sake of perfection when I don't think it's needed.

Though a stickler with dental care (flossing, brushing, regular cleaning, 30 years with a night guard, etc.) I have a lot of fillings from my youth and have on occaision felt self conscious about them. Recently I have had teeth breakage from the big fillings, and clenching (TMJ and grinding) and now have 3 crowns on molars. In the past 6 months I have had half my silver fillings (left side upper and lower) replaced with white amalgam and though there is some grey staining from the silver, I find myself very happy with the results. Work on the right side is planned for the future.

I had braces as a late teen (paid for them myself) due to profound overbite. Wisdom teeth out in my early twenties. No root canals, but one extraction (last upper left molar) last year. I was offered a root canal, but it was in the middle of our relocation, and simultaneous with tending to my mother who was having a small crisis. I just couldn't afford the down time.

I don't mind the colour (not white) or imperfections now that so much of the metal is gone. I am also one who likes an imperfect mouth, though natural big white teeth are lovely. The George Clooney, Shania Twain, school of glossy opaque crowns or veneers just doesn't look attractive to me.

Like Lisap & Rezamie, I've had braces twice. First when I was 9 years old till I was 13 (My orthodontist would stretch out the treatment as he got paid per visit and not a lumpsum amount - I discovered this much later!). Unfortunately, my teeth rebelled about being in a straight line and the gaps reappeared. I had to get braces again at 17 and had them on until my early twenties.

Needless to say, I don't smile at all because I was very embarrassed about the braces - both times. Though they are gone now, I still feel weird to smile at people. I keep thinking - Are they judging me on my front gappy, not pristine white teeth?

Braces meant special toothbrushes and constant mouth rinsing after every item of food eaten. While I tried to adhere to it, I did end up with a bunch of cavities. The equipment at the dentist always reminds me of machines used for road repair. I really don't like going to the dentist!

I'm not sure about terminology, but I wanted to clarify that I never had those braces attached to the teeth, just those contraptions you put into your mouth. Dictionary doesn't differentiate. I had all my grown up teeth very early, so they could start in primary school. When we moved the new orthodontist almost got me fixed braces, but luckily my parents asked for a second opinion and it was just money making.

I count myself fortunate to have strong, healthy teeth, and I am meticulous about caring for them. Apart from a spate of fillings in my teens, plus a few extractions due to overcrowding, I have not had to have any major work done so far. My teeth are not as straight as they once were, though, and this does bother me a little.

I'm not against cosmetic dentistry, especially if a person's confidence is being affected, but the need for absolute perfection and extreme whiteness does concern me. It strikes me that everyone ends up with exactly the same smile.

This topic is so close to home for me. I had braces from age 10 - 12 for a front gap but this wasn't followed up as a teenager - I think my parents didn't prioritise it - and so my teeth became crowded on the bottom and pushed out the top ones again. I've always had a front gap but actually I like that and feel that it is 'me' - and have even had people come up to tell me that it is lucky.
But over the years my overcrowded bottom teeth have pushed out my top ones further and further and one of my front top teeth is crooked and looks shorter than the other (it isn't, it is just the angle it is positioned). Over the past 2 years I've become more and more conscious of my teeth and now I feel that they are so ugly and strange.
I did explore orthodontics in my early 30s but didn't go through with it. I'm now considering it again in my mid forties. But the costs would be high and money is tight. I wonder if I should just try to accept that I will have ugly teeth. It is really getting me down at the moment.

I was surprised that your brother had his teeth straightened but not you!
It was the opposite here when I was growing up- girls were meant to have straight teeth but not so much boys.
My poor brother has suffered with recurring mouth ulcers all his life due to his uneven bite!
My teeth are pretty good although I still managed to crack a perfectly good
Molar through the root with my night-grinding!

FWIW, my mother had braces at 52 and would recommend it to anyone! Absolutely no regrets.

That is certainly food for thought, Runcarla.

Iron, your dentist sounds horrible. That's an awful way to treat someone.

I've been pretty fortunate in that my teeth are pretty straight and I've never needed braces. I did have some wisdom teeth removed and I've had several cavities, but nothing too major.

Recently I've noticed that some of my teeth are more yellowish than others. I don't really notice it unless I wear bright lipstick.

Such an interesting topic! I'm pretty obsessed with teeth. It's the first thing I notice about someone I'm talking to. This is probably because I was raised in suburbia, USA, and there was a lot of class prejudice against bad/crooked/missing teeth. You just didn't go there if you want to fit in to the middle or upper classes. I had to wear braces during 3 years of childhood for an atrocious overbite, and get oral surgery to remove extra teeth and that little thingie that grows between the front teeth and causes a gap, so I guess that set me up to take meticulous care of my teeth, and they are nice and healthy (I'm 64). I would never miss a dental checkup (fortunately, I have dental insurance, which helps a lot). I think teeth are a good indicator of one's overall health.

Mander, I think you're probably right.

He had me coming in every three months, which I didn't even question. It's been a closing in on a year now, I haven't lost a single tooth, and I'm in a lot less pain than I used to be.

I'll probably be firmly in the "Dentists give me panic attacks! I need to take so much xanax before I can sit in that chair that it isn't safe for me to drive myself!" camp for the rest of my life, so that's a huge relief.

I still don't want to buy fake teeth because I think it would make me very bitter if I knew that people were only being nice to me because they liked my cosmetic product, lol.

That's just not somewhere I want to go.

Everyone have really interesting stories regarding teeth.I also had metal braces in my teeth till high school. Later they were removed. Now my teeth look very nice when laughed.