Why Do High Earners Let Their Teeth Fall Apart?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I keep noticing something I just can’t wrap my head around. I know multiple people who earn high six figures: doctors, senior executives, people who clearly have the means to take care of themselves. They’re now in their mid to late forties, and their teeth are in noticeably bad shape. Crooked, crowded, shifting, in some cases even missing.
What gets me is that I remember them in their twenties. Back then, sure, they had some slight crookedness, nothing major. The kind of thing that could’ve been fixed easily with braces or Invisalign. Instead, it was ignored for decades, and now everything is much harder to fix. One person I meet with on Zoom has missing teeth, and it’s distracting every time. I honestly don’t understand how someone can be that successful and not feel self-conscious about it. For me, I’d be embarrassed if my teeth looked like that. It also gives a certain impression, whether fair or not. It makes you wonder about hygiene, self-care, or whether they’re putting effort into their overall appearance. Meanwhile I’ve done what I can: whitening, Invisalign, good maintenance. Especially now, when most of our interactions are on camera, presentation matters. Is it denial? Avoidance? Not caring? I’m genuinely curious what’s behind it. |
Anonymous
|
Teeth age. Big time.
And people hate the dentist and put it off. And it tends to involve a lot of time, which, as an attorney, I don’t have. |
Anonymous
They’re confident in who they are. Try it;it will change your life. This is like asking why short men don’t wear lifts. Or why some women don’t wear makeup…. Because some people just don’t need to. |
Anonymous
| Dental insurance is expensive and coverage can be minimal even with a high premium. |
Anonymous
I don’t really see it as a confidence thing. To me it’s more like basic upkeep, the same way you shower, brush your hair, or wear clean clothes. We’re not talking about a tiny imperfection or a quirk someone embraces. I’m talking about teeth that are visibly neglected: yellowing, crooked, shifting, sometimes missing. It’s hard not to notice, especially in professional settings or on camera. At a certain point it stops feeling like a style choice and starts looking like someone just didn’t bother to take care of something pretty fundamental. |
Anonymous
|
Some simply don't place any importance on their teeth. |
Anonymous
| Lots of people lack dental insurance and the cost of dental work is through the roof. OP, please focus on your own life and stop berating others. |
Anonymous
| I haven't noticed this. It's either the specific people that you know or you're hypercritical about teeth. Did you get teased about your teeth growing up? |
Anonymous
| Dental work can be very scary and painful. I think that's a big reason why some people avoid getting care. |
Anonymous
|
I was a lawyer making $1 million a year with bad teeth. Why? Because I wasn’t born a lawyer making $1 million a year. I was born into a lower class family that didn’t place a high priority on dental hygiene and care.
I take good care of my teeth now, but didn’t really start doing that until I was around 40. |
Anonymous
|
It’s a time and scheduling thing.
I had 6 years worth of orthodontia as a teenager. My teeth started shifting again in my 40s and I have not had the bandwidth to get Invisalign on top of managing my work schedule and kids’ schedules and everything else. It’s on the list and I certainly have the cash, but I don’t know when I can prioritize it. |
Anonymous
|
A few things:
You are conflating cosmetic dental issues with actual health issues related to teeth. There can be some overlap in them, but they arent' the same thing. People who just have crowding or yellow teeth don't actually have a medical problem. Sometimes crowding can be bad enough to cause issues, but often not. Yellow teeth are just genetic (or due to staining, but most people with yellow teeth just have high levels of dentin in their teeth and can only achieve white teeth with a lot of whitening). Some people don't care about this stuff. 50 years ago most people had both of these, even wealthy people. It's like baldness. Sure, some people will go to great lengths to address baldness. But it's not a health problem and plenty of people who can afford hair plugs or other treatments just don't bother. So that's part of it. For people who do have serious health issues with their teeth, it's more complicated than you think. I have a lifelong problem with teeth grinding that has caused serious problems with my teeth. I've had multiple root canals and one tooth will likely need to be pulled and replaced with an implant in the next 10-15 years because the second root canal is not doing as well as I'd hoped. Insurance rarely covers these procedures. Each root canal is between $1500-$3000. Crowns cost a few hundred each time, on top of the cost of the RC. An implant will be even more and take months. I am financially comfortable but I don't have a bottomless pit of money to spend on my teeth. I fully understand why people often put off this work or try something temporary to see how it goes. 4. In addition to the money, it's depressing and frustrating. If you've never had serious issues with teeth you might not get this. The reason my teeth are so bad is (1) genetic, and (2) I had an abusive childhood which is how I became a teeth grinder and why the damage is so bad -- it's been going on so long. Dentists will yell at me about the grinding like it's something I want to do and not really get that I'd do anything to stop grinding my teeth. I've had mouth guards but I grind through them, and then I developed sleep apnea that is made worse by the guards so I stopped using them. It sucks. I recently heard that botox might disrupt grinding so I'm looking into trying that. People treat me like my teeth problems are a moral failing but they aren't, they are an unfortunate circumstance I've actually put a lot of work into addressing (and a ton of money) but I still have issues. If you've never had major problems with your teeth, you don't get this. You probably think people with crooked, missing, or yellow teeth are just bad at flossing or something. Your tooth problems could be addressed with regular cleanings and a few treatments at a cosmetic dentist, while my teeth issues will wind up costing me tens of thousands of dollars, involve hours of time with various specialists, and I'll still probably never have great teeth. |
Anonymous
| Whitening and Invisalign are cosmetic - not “taking care of your teeth.” |
Anonymous
+1 and teeth naturally come in a range of off-white shades, cosmetic white is not the norm. |
Anonymous
I do think OP is hypercritical about teeth. I can't imagine judging someone for some crowding or slightly crooked teeth. Who cares? OP mentioned doing Invisalign and getting her teeth whitened. She was probably unhappy with her teeth before and put money into making them look perfect and now is hypercritical of other people's teeth they way she used to be about her own. This is a very common pattern for people, especially women. They become obsessed with perfection, and when they are done perfecting themselves they turn their attention onto everyone around them -- their kids, their spouse, their friends and colleagues. It's an unhealthy outlook. Other people's teeth are none of your concern. |