Here's are examples of braces appearing on television commercials in the '70s and '80s. This post is put together from two previous posts on this blog.
When I was young kid, braces were much less common, and being told you needed braces was something that was dreaded by kids and teens who had to undergo orthodontic treatment. This toothpaste commercial from the mid '70s shows the awkwardness of showing up at school for the first time with braces.
Check out this orthodontic Public Service Announcement 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.
When I was a teen in the '80s, braces were still stigmatized. This early '80s cheese commercial shows again the tendency to hide newly acquired braces by keeping one's mouth closed and smiling without showing one's teeth.
Of course, as shown by this mid '80s commercial, some kids and teens had no problem grinning through their metal mouths. Perhaps it took having a strong sense of individuality to bear one's tin grin without embarrassment.
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