Here are probably the most famous braces associated with the holiday season: those of Scut Farkus in the '80s classic movie A Christmas Story. In the classic fight scene in this video, you get a pretty good close up at the bully's mouthful of metal. Those were real braces which were worn by actor Zack Ward, who was actually undergoing orthodontic treatment at the time. Of course, it does create one film blooper: the movie was set in the 1940s, when braces used bands, but the braces worn by Farkus have '80s-era brackets! Happy Holidays to all!
Here are a few more closeups of the Christmas bully's braces.
I went on Reddit and posted the following question: "Does anyone else secretly wish they had braces on their teeth, or envy another person's braces?" Here are some of the answers posted:
I've been checking out a website called Quora, which provides forums for readers to provide informative answers to questions from other readers. I answered a question about "What does it feel like to wear braces?" Here's my answer from my own experience. Read Miles Lewis' answer to What does it feel like to wear braces? on Quora And here are some more orthodontic related responses to questions provided by others on the forums. Some interesting answers.
Here's the classic orthodontic horror scene from Poltergeist II: The Other Side, where Robbie's braces attack him. Poor Robbie really had a traumatic braces experience. This looks worse than heavy headgear treatment!
Here's a braces-related short film that came out in 2002. Its a Dutch film called "Samuel, veroordeeld tot de beugel." The title has been translated "Samuel, Condemned to Braces." According to synopses of the film, its about a boy undergoing major orthodontia, who finally has enough and puts together a website to warn others about braces. The film has a horror film style, and its actually quite amusing even if you don't know Dutch. You can kind-of tell whats going on, regardless of language. The braces experience is universal!
The new one question Quick Poll asks " Which of these things did you do with your braces?" and one of the choices is "Put a battery up to your braces to feel the electric charge." In case you want examples of this, click here, and here, and here, and here. Looks like fun?????
Check out these orthodontic Public Service Announcements from the 1970s. In this one, it looks like braces were really catching on with adults. But I remember the '70s, and braces weren't all too "groovy" with teens, much less grown ups.
And this one is a reminder to take your pre-teen or teen to see the ortho!
Gearheads - AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com: "Who makes three siblings commemorate their headgear wearing days? My mom, that's who! What teenagers agree to have a professional picture taken in said headgears?! My crazy family! Embracing the weird!”
Here's an excerpt from my old Foureyedmetalmouth blog, about one of my fave braces movie moments:
Saturday, 26 June 2004
Hey, I just saw Poltergeist II again. Thats the one where the Freeling's son Robbie gets attacked by his own posssessed braces!! I swear i just cant get tired of seeing that scene. Thats a braces classic! First he's there in front of his mirror looking at his braces and trying to shave, and then his braces get possessed and wires start coming out, and at the end, he's completely covered in braces wire!! (A muffled cry of "mmmmmmmmph, mmmmmph" comes up from behind the wire.)
When I underwent my adult braces experience back during 2003-2005, I used to blog about my experience. I also had (and still have) glasses, so I called my blog Foureyedmetalmouth. The blog no longer exists, but I was able to salvage a large part of it from a web archive. I posted an entry from it back in March 17, 2017, in a post called A Professional in Braces (2003). Since that time, I have put together a collection of excerpts salvaged from the old Foureyedmetalmouth blog, and have put them together for your reading enjoyment. It shows some of my own experiences as an adult with braces, and as someone who was actually getting a kick out of it. Click Here to go there. You can also find a link to the Foureyedmetalmouth blog excerpts just below the Mouthwear Stories archive on the right column of this blog. ⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒ Here's an excerpt from the blog, about getting my braces off, and receiving my retainer:
BRACES OFF . . . RETAINERS ON!!!Thursday, 28 April 2005
Some people make a big deal about getting their braces off, and act like its such a big change. I do still remember the way the wires poked me at times, and the feel of that stuff in my mouth, but on the basis of the way it felt, the change for me wasnt really that much to comment on. Its a bigger difference on the psychological side. Being an adult, there was always a selfconsciousness about have braces, and that was there when I spoke and smiled. Now, thats off me, and its actually a relief from that standpoint.
As someone who, admittedly, always thought braces were pretty cool growing up, and who was glad when I was told I needed them as an adult, I'm going to miss the wire and elastics and brackets. But, its cool that I've been able to enjoy a braces journey. And my teeth look great after the treatment. I've been told they look really good now, and I agree.
After getting my braces off, the ortho gave me a temporary reatiner that looked like a teeth whitening tray. . . . They also fitted me for my regular retainer. After about a week, my regular retainer came in, and I got it, along with a case. . . .
The retainers actually look pretty cool.. theyve got the acrylic part that is formed to fit my mouth behin my teeth, and its got the metal hard wires that look like bent paperclips which got around my teeth to keep them in place. There is also a small piece of plastic over the wire on my bottom teeth. At first the reatiner had a really bad taste to it, but I washed it thoroughly, and it came off. I've heard peopel complain about their reatiners, but I have to admit I havent had a problem with it. I was told to wear it as often as possible, but I've only done it at night... but it seems to be going quite well notwithstanding that.
Actual original pic from my Foureyedmetalmouth blog.
This is what this blog is all about. If you have braces, you can have some fun with all that metal gadgetry inside your mouth. For example, here's a braces themed prank!!
Back in the late '90s and early '00s, there was a site called Braces In . . . which listed television shows and movies which had characters who wore braces. The site changed its name to Bracesgallery.com at one point, and then ceased to exist. I did some searching through an internet archive and salvaged from the old Braces In/Bracesgallery.com the main lists for TV shows and movies from the that site. I am posting it on this site for your reading pleasure. They are at the right hand column⇒⇒⇒⇒ right above the Mouthwear stories. Or you can just click here below:
These are the actual lists as they appeared in the Braces In/Bracesgallery.com site during the early '00s. (The background and text fonts are different to conform to this site, but its the same lists from the old Braces In/Bracesgallery.com.) Enjoy!
I have had the honor to interview Catherine Aimes, the writer and publisher of Intraoral Press, a publisher oriented around braces-oriented fiction and orthodontic topics. Aimes has herself written extensively about the orthodontic experience, particularly in a fictional story format. In the website, Aimes described her inspiration as follows:
When I was teenager with braces I was disappointed that no one wrote about all the things that I was going through. Having braces was a significant part of my life during those years, and with two daughters approaching braces age I got to thinking more about them again. With Intraoral Press I want to make books available that deal with the orthodontic experience in its entirety, from the small pains to the big gains.
It is a treat to now present the following interview, which was conducted through email. I highly recommend Intraoral Press to all interested in braces and orthodontia for interesting books on that topic.
1. Among the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
It’s really hard to play favorites! I get completely wrapped up in writing them, so usually my favorite is whatever I am working on right now – currently the biggest of all the novels I’ve written, a book I’m calling “Mothers, Daughters, Braces.” I’ll always be fond of “Retainer Girl” because it was the first braces-book I wrote, but I really like how much variety there is to the books – and I also really like how the Dr.Wrighting-universe keeps expanding with new stories and experiences. (She is the orthodontist who treats most of the characters in my books.)
2.In the intraoral press website, you wrote that you were inspired to write about orthodontia from your own braces experiences. Are any of your stories inspired by actual events? If so, which stories and what events?
My stories are both really personal and flights of my imagination. The foundations are in my own experiences – not just the procedures and appliances the characters deal with, but especially my feelings and memories of the whole orthodontic experience – as well as from now also having shepherded my daughters through their time in braces, which provided all sorts of new insights and gave me new perspectives on dealing with having braces. All sorts of details, memories and experiences are taken from life, but the great thing about fiction is that you can expand on them in all sorts of ways. Writing my books allows me to imagine what the braced experience is like in all sorts of other circumstances, from being an adult with braces to having to wear different kinds of appliances that I never had to when I was being treated. I get to relive not only my own experiences, but to live in all sorts of experiences I can only imagine having.
3. Have you gotten any feedback from your readers? If so, are there any comments or questions from your readers which are particularly memorable? What did they say?
I do get some feedback, which is so encouraging! Most want to me to write more, so I feel bad that I can’t write faster, but it’s great to know there are fans who are eager to see the latest works. The fan base seems strongly split by sex: men definitely prefer the adult and fantasy content, while women are much more into the more realistic stories of the actual experience of having braces as a girl or teen. Most of the feedback is just readers saying they like my books and that they like finding things they can relate to, because they can’t find that in any other books. I’m not sure which I’m more proud of: when readers say they relate to the real-life stories, or when they say they relate to the fantasies!
4. What do you think it is about orthodontia that is so compelling and attracts the interest of so many people?
The experience of having braces is such an intense and prolonged one, both physically and psychologically, that I think it has an enormous and lasting effect. It’s also something that a lot of people have gone through – and that those who have can’t really forget. I think a lot of people like to remember those times and experiences, too – with mixed feelings, but strong feelings, because the feelings they had at the time were so strong. I think a lot of people have a love-hate relationship with the whole experience, and that is something that makes it so interesting too – and which makes it so interesting for me to explore in my writing.
When you have braces, you’re almost always aware of them – and a lot of them time when you’re in public you’re aware of how other people are aware of them. Especially when you have braces as a kid or a teen – which is when most people have braces – you already tend to be more self-conscious and having braces compounds most of those complex feelings from that age. Having braces as an adult must be difficult too – I try to imagine it in some of my books – and there’s a lot of self-consciousness to deal with too. It’s such a strange experience too, and some of the appliances are both frustrating and sometimes appealing, from the way they feel or fit. I think all of that makes it interesting for people.
I think there is so much to the experience – but that’s why I write whole books about it, to try to describe and explain all those mixed and complex feelings people have about braces.
5. Other than stories published by Intraoral press are there any mainstream books or movies that you would recommend to someone getting braces or who has an interest in braces?
The reason I started Intraoral Press was because there are so few books about the experience of having braces! It’s so frustrating. There are a few guides and information books, but I think they miss so much about the experience. I am working on a few ideas for books for readers who haven’t gotten braces yet, including a guide for younger patients, but so far my novels and stories are definitely for readers who already have or had braces, or I guess mature readers who have an interest in braces.
I guess “Smile” by Raina Telgemeier is the basic getting-braces book of our times. It’s good, but the case is kind of scary-extreme – it’s an unusual case, with knocked-out teeth and everything, so it’s not entirely like most kids’ experiences with braces. It is a graphic novel, so it is visual – but that also leaves less to the imagination. Other than that I don’t really know any good braces books. I did really like Alyson Gerber’s “Braced” recently. It’s a different kind of ‘braced’ – the girl has scoliosis and has to wear a back brace – but there are a lot of similarities with the experience of having orthodontic braces. There should be an equivalent book for kids with orthodontic braces! (My “Brooke in Braces” kind of is, maybe?)
There are some getting-braces episodes of TV shows, but usually those, as well as scenes with braces in movies, are too brief and too often they aim for cheap laughs, so that’s kind of disappointing. One exception I like is the sit-com “The Middle” where the girl, Sue, has braces for years. They play that for comedy a lot too, but because she always has them, over so many seasons, they really become part of the story, which is great. And of course there’s “Ugly Betty” which actually treats orthodontia seriously a lot of the time.
I like the short movie “Head Gear Girl” (it’s here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SQICtdVVU4) – except that I get really annoyed by the girl playing soccer wearing her headgear. Her orthodontist would be horrified! (I also don’t like that she smokes….)
Headgear Girl
Now, here's the short film Headgear Girl, which was cited by Catherine Aimes in her interview.
Okay, these are mostly not real. Its a clip from the early '80s sight-gag heavy comedy sitcom, Police Squad, showing a scene from an 80's era orthodontic office. The clip does show how braces, and in particular headgear, were perceived during the early eighties: as something a bit embarrassing and undignified, even freakish, to endure. This was before today's "braces as mouth jewelry" mentality.
The winner of the Real Braces survey for the coolest looking braces in TV and movies is Kim Fields, who wore her real braces when she played Tootie in the '80s sitcom The Facts of Life.
And here's the runner up: Sean Astin, who had real braces when he played Mikey in the classic '80s film Goonies.
Not all braces you see in the movies or television are real. Many of them are fake acting props. For example, the braces you saw on Marsha Brady in The Brady Bunch and on Jodie Foster's character in Freaky Friday are actually fake props. But occasionally actors wearing real braces, who are actually undergoing real orthodontic treatment, make their way into TV and movies. Often these braces become a feature of that character.
Here are a few examples of real braces on TV and in movies. The actors wearing their tingrins were actually undergoing ortho treatment, and their real metalmouths were worked into their performances.
Mike Lookinland wore real braces when he played Bobby in The Brady Bunch.
Anthony Michael Hallwore real braces in Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science.
Kim Fields wore real braces when she played Tootie on Facts of Life.
Sean Astin wore real braces when he was in Goonies and White Water Summer.
Zack Ward wore real braces when he played the bully Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story. ('80s bracket-style braces in a movie set in the banded-braces '40s!)
Ronnie and Keith McCawley wore real braces in their single movie appearance as twins Ronnie and Donnie Bloom in Rushmore. OK so who looked the coolest in their real braces?? ⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩Take this quick poll and let us know ⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩⇩
Here's a new reader contribution from the Tell Your Braces Story survey, this time from another anonymous reader:
Have You ever had
braces? Yes
BEST AND WORST: What
is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about
wearing braces?
Best: seeing my teeth straighten
Worst: flossing
FIRST REACTIONS:
What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you
experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or
a bystander.)
Smiling widely at them to reveal my own braces
MOST INTENSE
TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen?
(Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances,
length of treatment, etc.)
A friend had her braces for five years
(roughly age 26-31) with a palatal expander, lots of elastics, and
orthognathic surgery
COOL BRACES
EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable
experience involving your braces? What was it?
I work in a group of
people with several brace-faces currently. It's fun to compare notes
about our braces
ADVICE FOR OTHER
BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting
braces, or thinking about getting braces?
Cleaning your braces in the morning. Does this look familiar? Actually, this did kind of resemble me when I had braces. I was pretty intense in trying to keep them clean. The braces looked like mine too, in a way.
Here's another anonymous reader with his braces story.
Have You ever had
braces? Yes
BEST AND WORST: What
is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about
wearing braces?
best - fixing your teeth.
worst - the
pressure.
FIRST REACTIONS:
What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you
experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or
a bystander.)
inquisitive.
MOST INTENSE
TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen?
(Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances,
length of treatment, etc.)
6 years, a friend.
COOL BRACES
EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable
experience involving your braces? What was it?
being the first to
get braces in school and seeing all my friends get the after me.
ADVICE FOR OTHER
BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting
braces, or thinking about getting braces?
Here is another contributor, Laura from Denmark, providing a interesting account of her braces experience:
Have You ever had
braces? Yes
BEST AND WORST: What is the best thing
about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about wearing braces?
The best thing about wearing Braces is, that you can see your teeth
getting straight. The worst thing is eating with them or smiling
an not knowing, wether there might be still food in them.
FIRST
REACTIONS: What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces
have you experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who
reacted, or a bystander.)
"Foureyes has got a metalmouth"
said one of the Boys in my Class, when I had my Braces new. (I was
wearing Glasses)
MOST INTENSE TREATMENT: What is the most
intense braces treatment you have seen? (Intensity could involve
amount of metal, use of unique appliances, length of treatment, etc.)
Don't know. The Most intense about Braces is, when they are new and
you are not yet used to them.
COOL BRACES EXPERIENCE: Have
you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable experience
involving your braces? What was it?
When I was at the Summer Camp in
sixth grade, I was in love with a Boy (wich was of course a secret.
But when we talked, he confessed, that he is getting Braces too and
asked me a lot about how it is to wear them. When we met again he had
already his Braces on and he was so cute with them. I wanted to kiss
him imidiately. And we did not get stuck with them (as in bad
movies).
ADVICE FOR OTHER BRACES WEARERS: What advice
would you give to someone just getting braces, or thinking about
getting braces?
Never try to hide them, because sooner or later,
people will anyway realise, that you have them on.
Here is another personal braces story from one of my anonymous readers: Have You ever had
braces? Yes
BEST AND WORST: What
is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about
wearing braces?
The worst things are definitely, when there was food
in the Braces and you couldn't get it out. Best thing is, that you
could see your teeth getting straighter.
FIRST REACTIONS:
What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you
experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or
a bystander.)
My small nephew allways wanted to touch them, when we
visited my uncles family
MOST INTENSE
TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen?
(Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances,
length of treatment, etc.)
I don't know, may be, when I had to wear
elastics or actually the first days with them
COOL BRACES
EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable
experience involving your braces? What was it?
the one with my
nephew.
ADVICE FOR OTHER
BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting
braces, or thinking about getting braces?
its not as bad, as you
think it is and you will get used to it.
I've been collecting true personal accounts of braces experiences in the Tell Your Braces Story survey. Thank you for all who have contributed their story. I now have enough to start posting. This account is from one of my readers, jsrjay, who tells about his braces experiences as a kid and an adult.
Have You ever had
braces? Yes
BEST AND WORST: What
is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about
wearing braces?
The best thing is obviously the final outcome of
straight teeth, the worst is the fact of having metal attached to
your teeth. From a braces fascination point of view though there are no negatives
just all positives.
FIRST REACTIONS:
What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you
experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or
a bystander.)
I was about 9yrs old when a lad from my class came in
late to school one day, he came in wearing braces, this was my 1st
time seeing braces and I just thought they looked amazing, I remember
all the kids asking him about them, where I just sat admiring what I
saw.
MOST INTENSE
TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen?
(Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances,
length of treatment, etc.)
From my own treatment as a kid I had my
upper fangs were very pointy and stuck out like a vampire for that
reason the brackets on them teeth would always snap off, so one day
when I went in my ortho placed some like metal sheets on the upper
part of my fangs and also the lower part this would then keep the
brackets in place he did this to both my upper fangs, so it looked
like both my upper fangs were just sheer metal no white off the tooth
could be seen.as
COOL BRACES
EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable
experience involving your braces? What was it?
As an adult when I got
braces again I would deliberately break brackets just so I could go
back to the ortho just see what would happen and see other brace
wearers in the office.
ADVICE FOR OTHER
BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting
braces, or thinking about getting braces?
Here's another '80s era commercial, this one featuring both braces and glasses. It brings up again the sense of stigma that existed back then for these corretive devices. Before the '90s, braces were not seen as something to show off, but rather something to hide.
The recent Braces Fan Survey on this blog is different from previous surveys. All of my previous surveys involved experiences of wearing braces. (See the survey results on the right panel of this blog.) However, this survey is about perceptions of braces. More specifically, this is a survey for people who consider braces to be interesting and cool.
There is a great variety and answers, and of ways in which braces are perceived, even among admirers.
One thing that is not different among survey responders of the Braces Fan Survey, unlike in previous surveys, is that they are all male.
Are you male of female?
100% (15)
Male
0% (0)
Female
15 voters have answered this question.
This survey was open to people who have worn braces and those who have not, and its reflected in the split showing that both types of people responded to the survey.
Have you ever worn braces?
73% (11)
Yes
26% (4)
No
15 voters have answered this question.
Getting on the questions about whether survey takers enjoyed seeing braces on other people, experiencing braces on their own, or both, there is some divergence. One thing this surveys shows is just how many different ways there are to appreciate braces. People who think braces are cool have appreciated braces both on themselves and on other people.
Do you prefer to see braces on other people, or to wear braces yourself?
13% (2)
To see other people wearing braces on their teeth
0% (0)
To get braces on my own teeth
40% (6)
Both, but mostly to see others with braces
40% (6)
Both, but mostly to get braces on my own teeth
6% (1)
Both equally
0% (0)
Other (fill in blank)
15 voters have answered this question.
The next two questions involve when survey takers consider it to be the best time to have braces, and what time in the recent past have braces been most fun or interesting. A surprising diversity on both questions. Survey takers spread their responses as when in person's life is it the best time to go through a experience between the teens, twenties, thirties, and forties. A similar spread occurs in the question about which recent decade braces were most fun and interesting, with answers logged in for the Seventies, Eighties, Nineties, Oughts, and Teens (2010s). This is good news for me, since I had my braces in my thirties, during the Oughts (2003-2005 to be exact).
At what time in a person's life is it the best time to have braces?
20% (3)
Teenager
40% (6)
Twenties
33% (5)
Thirties
6% (1)
Forties
0% (0)
Fifties
0% (0)
Over 60
0% (0)
Other
15 voters have answered this question.
In what decade were braces most fun or interesting? (Give one choice.)
0% (0)
Fifties (1950s)
0% (0)
Sixties (1960s)
33% (5)
Seventies (1970s)
20% (3)
Eighties (1980s)
13% (2)
Nineties (1990s)
20% (3)
Oughts (2000s)
13% (2)
Teens (2010s)
15 voters have answered this question.
Moving forward to which situations braces fans think would be interesting to experience, there is a very close split between those who would like to be the only member of a group with braces, and one who would like to wear braces in a group where braces are common. This survey question is kind-of interesting, and I think speaks to the types of personalities of braces fans. It seems to indicate that some braces fans want to be "the" person with braces (and maybe stand out as such?), and others want to be part of a braces wearing group (and maybe see oneself as part of a group with tin grins?). As noted, there are different ways to experience braces, and to find them interesting.
Which of the following situations would you prefer?
46% (7)
Being the only one of your group of friends who has braces.
53% (8)
Having braces among a group of friends where all or most of that group has braces.
15 voters have answered this question.
Other questions asked what the survey responder would do if a friend had to wear braces but was uncomfortable about it, and about certain specific experiences each survey responder would find intriguing or interesting to experience. A wide variety of different interests here. About the "friend getting braces" question, its definitely good to see that no survey taker would make fun of their soon to be braced friend.
If you had a good friend was told they would definitely need braces, but who was very uncomfortable about doing it, what would be your most likely response?
26% (4)
Tell them you like braces in the hope that it would bring comfort
66% (10)
Try to comfort them, but don't reveal you like braces
6% (1)
Not say anything to them about braces, but make it a point to hang around them to see them deal with their braces
0% (0)
Make fun of their braces
0% (0)
Not be that interested
0% (0)
Other
15 voters have answered this question.
Which of the following situations would you like to live out? (Choose as many as are applicable.)
20% (3)
Having to wear headgear 24/7, including in public.
46% (7)
Seeing someone else have to wear headgear 24/7, including in public.
6% (1)
Having a noticeable speech impediment caused by your braces.
0% (0)
Seeing and hearing someone else having a noticeable speech impediment caused by their braces.
13% (2)
Having to wear a Herbst or other noticeable fixed appliance (this would not include headgear).
6% (1)
Seeing someone else have to wear a Herbst or other noticeable fixed appliance (this would not include headgear).
6% (1)
Having just plain braces (fixed braces only, with no other appliances).
0% (0)
Seeing someone else with just plain braces (fixed braces only, with no other appliances).
15 voters have answered this question.
This is a good time to mention the responses to the essay questions. Specifically three survey takers provided responses to the essay questions, and they're pretty interesting responses. As to the question "What do you like most about wearing braces yourself?" one survey respondent said that he liked "the feeling of restraint and the inability to take them out." Another responded "the metal smile." The third responder said that the question was not applicable to him (he had not worn braces).
There was also a similar question: "What do you like most about seeing braces on others?" There were only two responses to this question. One response said that "I like the look of metal stuff in another's mouth." Another responder (a non braces wearer), said that he liked "How they cope with them: eating appointments, embarrasment, etc."
Finally there was an essay question that said: "If you could make it come true, what would your braces experience fantasy be like? Share your dream." Two responses on this one. One responder said: "nice good visible metal brackets, bands with rubberbands, touguecrib and headgear would be great." Notably, this responder was the same one who mentioned metal in the question about what he liked about braces on himself, and what he liked about braces on others. As this reviewer would note, the metal look is one aspect of what braces fans think are interesting and cool about braces. The other responder said that he would like: "Orthodontist, fitting a substantial amount of metal to someone who had previously made fun of people with braces." A cool braces dream.
Lastly, a question about that classic follow up to fixed braces: retainers. As the rest of this survey showed, there's a lot of diversity among braces wearers. Answers about ho much they found retainers interesting ranged accross the board.
11. What do you think about retainers?
35% (5)
Retainers are as cool and interesting as fixed braces.
7% (1)
Retainers are cool and interesting on their own, but not as much as fixed braces.
21% (3)
Retainers are cool and interesting, but only as an afterthought to fixed braces (not on their own).
