An Account of '50s Braces

One of the most enjoyable accounts of the orthodontic experience of a kid during the 1950s and early 1960s is found in Tales from a Free-range Childhood by Donald Davis. Davis is a professional storyteller, and he uses his abilities to great effect by giving a wonderful account of his own experiences with braces.

His experience started during the late 1950's, when Davis was in his teens. At that time, braces were not so common, and were only applied to a child when it was necessary and when a family was able to afford them. Although Davis' family came from modest means, a family relative happened to be an orthodontist, and Davis needed them because he had apparently acquired the crooked teeth that came from his father's side of the family. Davis recounted how: "Over and over again, however, in eavesdropping on Mama's conversations with Dr. Phil Medford, our dentist, I began to hear the same repeated word: 'Braces . . . braces . . .  braces.'"

Davis originally really did not want braces, which in the fifties were unusual and embarrassing. However, the orthodontist office was in a nearby town, which required Davis to take a bus trip to see his orthodontist. Davis gave an enjoyable account of his trips to town, and ironically, the freedom he felt being alone as a kid in a sizable town, even while he was there to get braces. He also gave some good descriptions of his encounters at the orthodontist office, such as his account of getting his lower braces installed:

"Dr. Turbyfill worked on my mouth and put the bands on all of my lower teeth. Then he added wires to the bands and did a lot of tightening and twisting of wires. It was actually quite entertaining. There were times when there were ends of long wire hanging out of my mouth before they were trimmed off. It was like putting new strings on a guitar in my mouth."

The braces were not painful at first, but Davis recounts that: "By the time we were back home, my mouth was throbbing." In subsequent visits, the orthodontist installed his top braces, and the routine visits to get his braces tightened commenced. And along with each appointment, came the additional experiences of being a kid alone in a big town, visiting big department stores, walking around town, and going to the movie theater.

The chapter concludes with Davis getting his braces off, and he and his mother sharing their view of his school yearbook picture: "There I was, smiling, with both rows of straight, braces-free teeth."

Here, below, are potions of that chapter, provided by Google books. Enjoy.