I used to have what my orthodontist referred to as the "worst case of bunny teeth he'd ever seen." My two front teeth on the top stood out in front of the rest, like Bugs Bunny.
I had teeth like Owen's in my kiddie photos, but I got all my adult teeth except my wisdom teeth by the time I was 9 1/2, and I was a tiny 4th grader, one of the smallest in a class of 120, with a tiny mouth. I got my wisdom teeth in by the time I was 12, and I still 4'8" then.
My orthodontist had his work cut out for him!
The first thing he did was to have the adult teeth behind my canines pulled, and expand my palate, pulling the back teeth forward to make room for the wisdom teeth. He put in the hardware for that just before I was sent off to visit my dad for our month together in the summer. It changed my face so much that when my mom came to pick me up again at the airport, she was startled when an unfamiliar kid came up and hugged her around the waist, until she realized it was me.
He did good work, and when he was done, I had a much more functional bite (the only really good reason to get orthodontia done), and my teeth were unremarkable looking, with plenty of room for those wisdom teeth. They were never preternaturally even and straight, so they don't scream "EXPENSIVE DENTISTRY!" at you every time I open my mouth, which I consider a plus.
I agree that if you were suddenly to win the lottery or something, it would be a good idea to get your overbite corrected on functional grounds, but I don't see it as unattractive. Then again I'm old enough (53) to have my visual memory of faces formed by seeing my parents' and grandparents' generation, most of whom did not get orthodontia (my mother and mother-in-law did), so I don't have an expectation, as my kids' generation seems to, that teeth will be white, even, and straight on everybody. Like in my icon.
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I had teeth like Owen's in my kiddie photos, but I got all my adult teeth except my wisdom teeth by the time I was 9 1/2, and I was a tiny 4th grader, one of the smallest in a class of 120, with a tiny mouth. I got my wisdom teeth in by the time I was 12, and I still 4'8" then.
My orthodontist had his work cut out for him!
The first thing he did was to have the adult teeth behind my canines pulled, and expand my palate, pulling the back teeth forward to make room for the wisdom teeth. He put in the hardware for that just before I was sent off to visit my dad for our month together in the summer. It changed my face so much that when my mom came to pick me up again at the airport, she was startled when an unfamiliar kid came up and hugged her around the waist, until she realized it was me.
He did good work, and when he was done, I had a much more functional bite (the only really good reason to get orthodontia done), and my teeth were unremarkable looking, with plenty of room for those wisdom teeth. They were never preternaturally even and straight, so they don't scream "EXPENSIVE DENTISTRY!" at you every time I open my mouth, which I consider a plus.
I agree that if you were suddenly to win the lottery or something, it would be a good idea to get your overbite corrected on functional grounds, but I don't see it as unattractive. Then again I'm old enough (53) to have my visual memory of faces formed by seeing my parents' and grandparents' generation, most of whom did not get orthodontia (my mother and mother-in-law did), so I don't have an expectation, as my kids' generation seems to, that teeth will be white, even, and straight on everybody. Like in my icon.