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I can't tell you how many professional adults I have met recently with really bad teeth. I don't mean to sound petty or judgemental, I'm just wondering what would prevent an educated employed person from taking care of their teeth.
I've met people with blackness around their gumline where they have crowns. People missing front teeth, people with discolored teeth. I had a blind date recently with a very nice gentleman who is clearly self conscious about his teeth. He was avoiding smiling or would duck his head to the side when he smiled. He KNOWS.
So why not just have them fixed?
And yes, it makes me wonder if maybe I should get my eyes fixed because don't people meet me and wonder "surely she knows those droopy eyes make her look bad."
Cosmetic dentistry is very expensive, and not usually covered by insurance, even for those that have it. Just because people have professional jobs doesn't mean they have that kind of disposable income, so that would be my first guess. If you check out the CD dental forum you would be shocked at what some people are paying for things like implants.
In others, it's a very real fear of the dentist. I have a relative who appears to have lost every tooth in his head. My uncle wrote him a check to get some dental work done, and he still couldn't bring himself to go. Nobody likes going to the dentist, myself included, but most of us realize the benefits.
A lot of times they can't afford to fix them. The ones who can afford it and don't do it may have some kind of phobia keeping them out of the dentist's chair.
As a single woman, I consider the condition of the mouth I'm going to kiss. If that is shallow, I can own that. Some women don't like bald heads, or short men. I really don't care about stuff like that (things out of our control). My parents have brown coffee stained teeth and my whole life I've been trying to avoid Mom's nasty coffee breath. So I'm sure part of my aversion is due to that.
As a person who is underemployed...people spend all kinds of money they don't have on things like cars or iGadgets or data plans or vacations. But there is no disputing the relationship between good teeth and success. And a lot of what I'm talking about is not just cosmetic. I had a very dark tooth...went to see about getting it bleached...Dentist found a dead root and my insurance paid for the root canal. I paid a small additional fee for interior whitening. Minimal out of pocket expense, worth every penny. Lots of work that is covered will improve the appearance of your teeth. My teeth are far from perfect, I will never be a toothpaste model, but at least they are now all roughly the same color.
As a person with teeth, I know very well that dental health, such as the condition of crowns or caps or fillings or gums, is very closely linked to overall physical health. If you leave spaces between your teeth , that can cause malformation of the mouth and jaw that will cause serious problems later. It is NOT just a cosmetic thing.
I feel bad, because the guy I went out with last night was nice. But to me it was about more than the teeth. His self esteem has been impacted by his teeth, yet he doesn't make getting them fixed a priority. So what does that say about his datability?
Have you seen how much dental care costs? Don't blame or judge people for something they often can't help. If you care so much, why not campaign for affordable dentistry?
As the link between dental health and overall health becomes more understood, hopefully most insurances will cover more dental care. As for the rest of us who don't have dental insurance or can't afford the out of pocket expense that would go with it - what would you suggest they do? You are talking about potentially thousands of dollars for people with low income, erratic income, fixed income. My oldest daughter needed braces (and she genuinely needed them, not just for cosmetic bs), but there was no way I could have afforded them, so her father and grandparents picked up the cost. Otherwise it wouldn't have happened.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,723,992 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluegreen aura
Exactly! And she even talked about her own situation and how she paid with her insurance and didn't have hardly any out of pocket expenses. As if everyone has insurance.
Even with insurance dental work can be expensive. I had a crown put in to fix a cavity and it was $600 AFTER insurance (which the dental office says I got a steal on) by the time I was done not to mention weeks of using my day off to do it. I was a college student living on $12 an hour at the time.
As stated, cost is a huge factor and most people don't have coverage for cosmetic work. The secondary reason is that it is not usually a one time fix. My ex wife had $ 15 K worth of work done some years ago and has spent at least that amount because of problems that have come up......teeth breaking, tooth aches, infections, etc.
With so many people just struggling today to make ends meet things like cosmetic surgery and dental repair are at the bottom of the priority list.
I can't tell you how many professional adults I have met recently with really bad teeth. I don't mean to sound petty or judgemental, I'm just wondering what would prevent an educated employed person from taking care of their teeth.
I've met people with blackness around their gumline where they have crowns. People missing front teeth, people with discolored teeth. I had a blind date recently with a very nice gentleman who is clearly self conscious about his teeth. He was avoiding smiling or would duck his head to the side when he smiled. He KNOWS.
So why not just have them fixed?
And yes, it makes me wonder if maybe I should get my eyes fixed because don't people meet me and wonder "surely she knows those droopy eyes make her look bad."
Wow........how superficial is that? Don't you think that people with bad teeth would rather NOT have bad teeth? Here's a simple answer for you - MONEY. Maybe you have plenty but a lot of people these days just can't afford to conform to your standard of beauty.
I don't know how this could sound anything but petty. It is petty, insensitive, shallow and completely lacking in insight.
You could use a good dose of compassion - go volunteer at a soup kitchen somewhere.
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