Dental Braces and Self Esteem

For years now, there has been a line of thinking that believes that getting dental braces to correct teeth tends to improve self esteem.  In fact, many parents chose to have their children fitted with dental braces precisely to develop confidence.  The accepted scenario is this – a buck-toothed, geeky looking guy, gets fitted with braces, and comes back the following year of high school, flashing a brilliant, perfectly straight smile. He gets the girl of course, and the story ends happily.

However, a new study by British researchers indicates that any increase in children's self esteem post braces, may actually be overrated.  According to the results of the study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, having braces didn’t necessarily lead to any improvement in self esteem in later years.

The study traced the lives of 1000 Welsh school children.  These children were traced over a period of 20 years, from the time they were 10 or 11, and had started to wear braces, to the time that they were in their thirties, and had their teeth straightened out.

The results were remarkable.   The researchers found that the people seemed to be happy overall with their teeth and smile. They were not just happy with the cosmetic benefits that the braces had given them, but had also experienced better oral heath overall, resulting from a better alignment of the upper and lower teeth.  However, these people were found to have the same problems of self esteem and lack of confidence that other people who had never received dental treatment faced.  In short, the fact that they had had orthodontic treatment, and now had perfectly straight teeth, did not seem to impact their overall state of mind or happiness. They were found to have the same kind of relationship problems, and image issues that others do.

So what does this prove?  That a set of perfectly aligned brilliant white teeth do not a happy person make!  

There are a lot of different factors that play a role when it comes to building a person's self confidence.  A nice smile may be a small and even minor cog in that wheel. So if you have a great set of teeth, and have nothing else going for you, like smarts, or an interest in the world around you, you are likely to be as complexed as the geeky kid next door who has crooked teeth.  

There is also something to be said here about the pressure to look great and Hollywood star-style perfect which makes people who have even minor, barely noticeable imperfections in their teeth, to call their orthodontist for an appointment.  There are quite a few examples of famous people like supermodel Laetitia Casta, and French songstress Vanessa Paradis who have slightly crooked teeth, and have still gone on to have  fabulously happy lives.  Perfect teeth cannot substitute for the lack of other important things in your life like love, good friends, and a job that you enjoy.

When you focus on getting your teeth fitted with braces to straighten them out, place an equal importance on developing other facets of your personality, cultivating hobbies, concentrating on studies, and having plans for the future. All these seem to have a greater impact on your psychological frame of mind than a mere set straight teeth.