Ask any child with less-than-perfect teeth about the nicknames and teasing… and you’ll no doubt hear a sad story. We hear them every day – Goofy, Bugs Bunny, Fang. That’s rough! There is real substance to such a child’s social pain.
One study on childhood harassment found that protruding or misaligned teeth were the single most common target of name-calling among kids. Further, children with orthodontic problems are more subject to bullying than their luckier peers.
We’ve all experienced the hostility of childhood epithets – it’s part of growing up. But for some of us, the bad memories don’t “go away.” Early and persistent humiliation can become an adult’s psychological baggage.
Part of our job as orthodontists is a social one. We know how a child with a problem bite feels. We know that it’s a situation that can be prevented. We have the means of correcting every “bad bite” out there – and with it, the social brutality so devastating to young self-esteem.
We would like every child in our community to have the advantages of a normal, healthy countenance. Orthodontic evaluation is the first step. The VALUE of a healthy, beautiful SMILE…. PRICELESS!!!!