Plastic surgery is frowned upon because it causes someone to change the way that they physically look. Most people think it is bad to change the way you look to fit society’s picture of what looks “normal”. Could something that a majority of the United States goes through be put in this category? Like getting plastic surgery, wearing an excessive amount of makeup, or losing a mass amount of weight, braces change one’s appearance. Most Americans get braces to change the smile God blessed you with, into the uniform “cheese” someone, somewhere decided was “normal”.
Everyone in my family, excepting my dad, has had braces. I am currently on my second set of braces. I first got a mouth full of metal when I was in first grade. I started out with a palatal expander. Sound like a mouth full right? No pun intended. A palatal expander, also known as a rapid palatal expander, rapid maxillary expansion appliance, palate expander or orthodontic expander is used to widen the upper jaw so that the bottom and upper teeth will fit together better. The expander is "activated" by turning the screw. This is done with a "key". Since this appliance does not come out of your mouth, the screw must be turned with the key inside your mouth. In human terms, a metal contraption is placed on the roof of your mouth and is turned with a key to break your palate. Mine was similar to the one in the photos below. If you look closely, you'll see a hole in the center. That would be the key-hole. Every night my mom or dad would have to take the key and turn the screw a couple times. I would sugar coat it and say it didn’t hurt that bad, but it did. The pain isn’t even describable. It caused headache and jaw aches. Not a fun time. All of that, just so I could have a “normal” mouth.
After my palate was fully expanded, I was put in my first set of braces. Just like everyone else who has braces, I had to go in and get them tightened every month. A few months into having braces, my orthodontist decided to put yet another expander in my mouth. Thankfully, this expander wasn’t nearly as painful as the previous one. As you can see in the picture below, it is very simple. I am not exactly sure what it is for, but I imagine something similar to the first expander. This one didn’t require a key and was much less painful. Along with my braces, this lovely, new, expander I also got to wear a piece of head gear. My head gear was meant to correct my cross-bite. In the picture below (right) you can see it looks similar to a wrestler’s head gear. I had to wear it every night and it was not the most comfortable sleeping apparel.
Once my teeth were straight, I got my braces off and was given a removable retainer for my top teeth, and a permanent retainer for the bottom. Neither was painful or hard to manage. Unfortunately, I got into a softball accident that damaged the perfection that took so long to achieve. So, here I am again, on my second set of braces, on top and bottom, to get that “perfect” smile again. I also have to wear rubber bands, to help correct my bite. My orthodontist has suggested jaw surgery to correct my bite; surgery, to look “normal”. A surgery, that he told my mom, could possibly change the way my face looks.
So, I ask the question: Is having braces really mush different than the cosmetic surgeries people go through? What are you telling that first grader, when you have to cause them pain every time you turn the screw? Should we have to go through pain to get the “perfect” smile? Your smile is unique. Your smile is what makes you, you.
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