If you watch movies from twenty or thirty years ago, you'll see that most people don't have perfectly straight, shiny white teeth. These days, wearing Medicaid braces is part of the American coming-of-age. Why are Americans so preoccupied with hygiene and straight teeth?
Part of the answer is socioeconomic. As the richest country in the world, we're able to afford luxurious healthful amenities. Straight teeth correlate to lower risks of heart disease and stroke, as well as gum disease and tooth decay.
And, while there are stereotypes that Americans have better teeth than the population of anywhere else in the world, it is because most dental care in European countries, for example, is socialized and free. Thus, the cosmetic process of braces is considered largely aesthetic, in the same way plastic surgery is esteemed by most people.
Because dental care is privatized in the United States, it causes braces and straight teeth to be considered as a kind of status symbol. The richest people can all afford braces and the aspiring middle class wants to offer their children the same opportunity, so they offer them braces. This mindset permeates the society as a whole, which values its place as top economic producer in the world, at least for now, and wants to reflect that aesthetically. Braces and straight teeth have become less of a privilege and more of a right in the United States, especially with the increasing popularity of Medicaid braces.
A lot of this relates to the history of public health, which has long been closely tied to proper mental health. Cleanliness is next to godliness as the saying goes, and during the 20th century, the institutionalization of schools and companies created public health standards regarding hair, skin, teeth and other bodily processes. Public health became mostly about how to show yourself to others (which, when combined with the American puritanical disdain for sex and "dirtiness, led to the expulsion of the bidet), and what others see most often is your face and smile.
At our present juncture in history, with orthodontics becoming ever more affordable and comfortable, straight teeth among Americans are almost requisite. And with the leaps and bounds in dental care around the world due to globalization, prettier smiles will soon be omnipresent. Plenty of people who don't get braces have fine, straight teeth and never develop a cavity. They may not have
Hollywood smiles, but that's okay. Even if you never had braces, and you have a gap between your incisors or slight overlapping in your canines, take heed, remember that idiosyncratic smiles offer individuality and build character.
Author Resource:-
HansonPlaceOrtho.com, Hanson Place Orthodontics is a Brooklyn NY orthodontist run by Dr Yakov Eisenberger dedicated to improving the smiles of patients using the latest treatment technologies.
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