I've had an underbite my entire life and to be honest it has been pretty soul-destroying. Try never smiling with your teeth, ever. Feeling self-conscious when you meet someone new. Laughing with somebody and then wondering what they saw - a whole mouth of crooked and underlapped teeth, most likely. Try not being able to chew food properly because your entire row of top teeth fall behind your bottom teeth, instead of slightly overlapping the front like they are supposed to. Try getting a stiff jaw every day and hearing jaw popping sounds whenever you open your mouth.
And you spend so much time trying to hide it, practicing in the mirror, positioning your lips just so, that nobody even notices it - but you do. And it's even more painful that they don't notice, because then they don't understand and find it difficult to empathise.
Underbites really, truly, absolutely damage the quality of somebody's life. It's not a trivial issue, or insignificant in any way, it destroys self-confidence and self-esteem.
And the worst part? If you have no money, there is nothing that you can do about it. Too bad.
It comes down to this: Having unattractive teeth is kind of like having terrible body odour, except that you can have a shower or spray some deodorant to fix that. Or it's like having face full of acne, but you can drink more water, wash your face multiple times a day and reduce your sugar intake to fix that. Maybe it's like being overweight... Oh, wait, no, you can diet and exercise and have a positive outlook to fix that.
If those things - body odour, acne, being overweight - were just eliminated due to factors that you can control, your self-confidence would shoot on up. And while you can give me all of that, "some medications make people gain a lot of weight, they can't help it", or, "there's more to just being physically attractive, don't be so shallow", or, "some people actually have skin conditions that they cannot help, you know", you should know that this post and blog is not about, or for, those people. This blog is for those of you who suffer from an underbite, overbite, cross-bite, any image problems relating to your teeth and jaw. It is realistic and I will not sugarcoat any part of my experience.
It's not only about my underbite, though (although that it an immense part of it). The truth is, I've always wanted beautiful teeth.
I've always felt that it is that one thing that can make someone go from unattractive to attractive. And living in a westernised culture, physical appearance is, unfortunately, extremely important. So I don't believe that I am being shallow, only realistic, when I say that if I could improve my physical appearance, I would, and that it would ultimately get me further in all areas of life (stemming from a heightened sense of confidence and improved mental health that physical attractiveness, in my case, would provide).
Having nice teeth is not the only thing that you and I strive for to improve our appearances. We eat healthy to control weight gain, and exercise to maintain a level of fitness and health, and we reduce sugar intake to benefit our facial complexions.
Nice teeth, contrary to these examples, is something that you cannot control. Sure, you can brush them every day, floss, mouthwash, you name it. Regular dental check-ups when you can fork out the cash, go for it. You can have pearly white teeth, no fillings, no holes, no cavities. Good for you, I can relate. But in most cases, your teeth will still be crooked, and no amount of brushing flossing or rinsing is going to fix that. You know what? Ultimately, it comes down to money. At 22, I am, and my wonderful parents are, finally in a position to correct my very healthy but unfortunately fairly crooked teeth, and my excessive underbite which requires maxillofacial surgery (to move my top jaw forward) midway through my braces treatment.
And this blog will document all of these experiences within my journey from now until it is over.
<3
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