Wow, Orthodontics Have Come a Long Way since the Stone Age

The Teenager left the house this morning in good spirits; she was excited about getting her braces put on and, while I remember braces as a social handicap, she has been exuberantly enthusiastically adamant about them being just the opposite.

Granted, back in my day (when the rubbing together of two sticks was required in order to heat one’s home), braces were ugly metal monstrosities encircling the entire tooth and requiring wires the size of drinking straws. Now and days, they are apparently made of whisper-light composites held together with a single strand of gossamer fairy hair.

Also, they now come in a wide range of colors and the patient actually gets to choose their favorite combination. Today's braces are a fashion accessory as opposed to a Medieval torture device created to cause pain and social stigmatism (brace-face!) and to strike fear into the heart of young lovers (one kiss and your faces will get stuck together, forever).

The Teenager has it easy, is my point.

Oh, yeah, except for the part where there is still a modicum of pain involved in the process because, there are some things that being fashionable just can’t overcome.

Also, I am sticking to the whole "getting stuck while kissing" thing because, in case you all have forgotten, The Teenager has a boyfriend now.

Not that they actually kiss or anything.

Right?

(The correct reply here is right! Of course they don't!)

Anyway, here's what $4800 looks like up close and personal. As an aside, my first car cost $4200. The price difference makes sense when one considers that my first car was not constructed of magical whisper-light composites and a single strand of gossamer fairy hair.