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Oh, please. Of course there are people who are the victims of a lack of dental care by their parents, and perhaps no extra money to correct it later, but the OPs husband is a professional who probably had dental insurance or the means to fix himself, yet he chooses not to. He chooses the behavior, so he chooses the consequences.
We have a regular furnace guy who my husband won't call anymore because he has only a few teeth in his mouth. There's a grocery store in my town with a cashier with rotted teeth. No way would I have hired these people man to represent my company to the public. If I were hiring employees to represent my company, they would be folks with self respect.
i have dental insurance (and a good job) but i haven't gotten my teeth fixed yet because i know going to the dentist will make me feel bad about myself. my teeth are messed up from years of self-induced vomiting. i feel good about myself now and i take care of myself. i no longer abuse my body. however, i'm still not ready to get into a situation like that that would make me feel guilty about what i have done. maybe in a few years, i don't know.
i don't think any of this has hindered my career growth. if anything overcoming hardship has helped me tremendously. i am still a work in progress. i always will be.
Oh, please. Of course there are people who are the victims of a lack of dental care by their parents, and perhaps no extra money to correct it later, but the OPs husband is a professional who probably had dental insurance or the means to fix himself, yet he chooses not to. He chooses the behavior, so he chooses the consequences.
We have a regular furnace guy who my husband won't call anymore because he has only a few teeth in his mouth. There's a grocery store in my town with a cashier with rotted teeth. No way would I have hired these people man to represent my company to the public. If I were hiring employees to represent my company, they would be folks with self respect.
Dental insurance policies typically don't cover "cosmetic" procedures such as braces, whitening, etc.
Last edited by puginabug; 02-01-2015 at 06:34 PM..
What needs to be done is to incorporate dentistry into the medical community like other medical ''specialties'', i.e., cardiology, internal medicine, oncology, nephrology, etc. for practice and insurance reimbursement.
All other medical practitioners bill insurance after seeing the patient. The the patient pays any co-pays or may incur a bill afterward for the balance left over. But they get the medical care first. Rarely do they go without.
Dentists won't treat you unless you pay them first, in most instances. And insurance coveage is poor at best and no way covers the high fees of the dentist. Few can afford that.
Dental coverage needs to be incorporated into a wholistic healthcare model as part of health care insurance.
As it stands now many people go without care, dentists are poorly reimbursed, and patients are expected to pay high out of pocket costs up front with rare opportunities to set up payment plans for crucial care.
Same with animal vets, but that is another thread.
Of the numerous indicators of good health, good habits and good genes, somehow teeth are selected for particular importance. Why is that?
Just a theory, but they're at eye level. You can't not see them.
I can (and do) choose not to pay much attention to how somebody I work with dresses, or what shoes they wear, or what accessories they have. But if you open your mouth to talk, even if I'm trying to be non-judgmental, the optic nerve still receives the message that SOMETHING IS WRONG THERE and even if I can be mature and elect to disregard that signal, the fact that I've processed it at all has distracted me from whatever it was we were meant to be doing.
Well, actually, it's not always a matter of being "clueless". My husband's family didn't have the money for braces when he was a kid, and by the time he was an adult, his "fangs" were a part of him. He's always taken good care of his teeth, crookedness and all.
And as I said earlier, it hasn't stopped him from advancing in his career at all.
Seems like a pretty judgemental thing to say, if you ask me.
It could be the culture of the companies he's worked for didn't place much emphasis on this. Or it's possible his teeth aren't crooked the same way the OP's husbands are. Or you're located in a part of the country where this isn't as big of a deal. Without looking at photo's, or knowing any of the details, we really have no way of knowing how your husbands situation relates to the OP's husbands situation.
Our culture has led us to placing an emphasis on looks, right or wrong. If something is holding a person back, and it's something that can be changed, it might be wise to change it.
It could be the culture of the companies he's worked for didn't place much emphasis on this. Or it's possible his teeth aren't crooked the same way the OP's husbands are. Or you're located in a part of the country where this isn't as big of a deal. Without looking at photo's, or knowing any of the details, we really have no way of knowing how your husbands situation relates to the OP's husbands situation.
Our culture has led us to placing an emphasis on looks, right or wrong. If something is holding a person back, and it's something that can be changed, it might be wise to change it.
Exactly. My point was that, while this issue *may* hold someone back, it is not a given that it *will*. Each situation, each person, each hirer, is different.
To say across the board that crooked teeth will or will not hinder job advancement is simply not accurate either way.
The biggest hurdle though now is to bring the subject up again with him. We've been married almost 30 years and this discussion has never gone well. We've had it maybe 3 times. Every time, he dismisses it. (Pride- yes. doesn't think it's important. Complacency- yes. He hates dental work. Frugality- yes! doesn't want to spend a dime on anything unnecessary) We have several children and only one has had braces because her case was severe. She has a gorgeous smile now. Two others at least could use correction but it's not one of his financial priorities. We also drive old crappy cars with upwards of 140K miles even though he makes well over $100K/ year. He's just not into that image thing. Sigh! He is only slightly overweight. I've seen obese more than I care to where we live. He's not that at all.
He's not abusive or neglectful of his family. He's really a sweetheart but just holds the line on things like this.
Exactly. My point was that, while this issue *may* hold someone back, it is not a given that it *will*. Each situation, each person, each hirer, is different.
To say across the board that crooked teeth will or will not hinder job advancement is simply not accurate either way.
Ahhh...got it. I agree.
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